Jury trial for man on heroin-importing count

Press, 23 February 1989, Page 18

Jury trial for man on heroin-importing count

A Hokitika man will face trial by jury in the High Court on a charge alleging he imported heroin, amounting to about 4g, by posting small quantities of the drug in letters sent from Thailand to a Hokitika address.

After a preliminary hearing in the District Court yesterday, Messrs J. B. Andersen and A. L. Mclvor, Justices of the Peace, committed Raymond William Patrick Leslie, aged 33, a painter, for trial.

They remanded him on continued bail, pending his trial.

The importation was al-

leged to have occurred between October 25 and 31 last year, through Auckland. Mr T. M. Sissons, who appeared for Leslie, reserved the defence.

Sergeant B. M. Roswell, who prosecuted, said in the police outline of the case that Leslie visited Thailand last October. Customs officers in Auckland intercepted several letters from Thailand, addressed to a person in Hokitika.

These were found to include small quantities of heroin between folds of paper.

After customs officers searched premises in Hokitika, where the letters had been addressed to, Leslie was interviewed in Christchurch.

Sergeant Roswell said heroin amounting to about 4g was alleged to have been sent in the letters. Statements of nine prosecution witnesses were read or submitted to the Court.

Counsel objected to the admissibility of certain evidence.

Suppression orders were put on the evidence concerned, for the preliminary hearing.