“Five involved’ in drug deal

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34021, 10 December 1975, Page 2

“Five involved’ in drug deal

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, December 9. One of the two people charged with bringing heroin worth sl.sm into New Zealand told his former girl-friend that five people would deal in the heroin.

A female witness, whose name was suppressed, was giving evidence in the trial of a man and a woman, both aged 45, from Christchurch, who have denied importing heroin on October 12. They are appearing in the Supreme Court at Auckland before Mr Justice Henry and a jury of 12 men. The witness. said she met the male accused earlier in the year, but already knew the other man connected with the case (who is awaiting trial in Christchurch on a similar charge) and had helped in his bookmaking business.

One week-end in August she stayed with the two accused, and there were many telephone calls to the man.

The next day she discussed the calls with the accused. He said five men were going to deal with heroin. The witness said she did not believe him, and could not see his doing that. She asked him if the female accused knew, and he said she did not.

Detective Sergeant Peter Malcolm Hilt said he spoke to the woman accused at the airport on October 12, and in the car going to the police station. He asked her whether she knew two persons who were well known to the police as narcotic traffickers. Those persons were in Christchurch. She said she did not know those people. She said she had sat next to the other, accused on the wav home from the East. She told Sergeant Hilt she had seen, in Bangkok and Chiangmai about seven times, the person awaiting trial. After her daughter had travelled from Christchurch to see her she made a second statement to the police. She said the other man had asked her to bring the cases back, and he was going to pay for the trip and expense?: The other accused had travelled with her. She told Sergeant Hilt that she had asked the other accused to take one of her cases as his baggage, to save excess charges and he told her to take it herself. In her statement, she said his reasons were that it would be better for insurance.