More than $650,000 in assets have been seized from a Wairarapa drug supplier, bringing to an end what police said were years of profiting from methamphetamine.
A profit forfeiture order totalling $653,000 was granted yesterday against Namana – the amount police believe he benefited from the offence.
As part of a settlement with police, the 67-year-old will hand over a piece of Masterton real estate, seven vehicles, seven motorcycles, bank funds, seized cash, and an additional payment of $91,000, for a combined value of around $240,000.
He could also still stand to lose around $400,000 more if police identified any other assets that could be seized.
Detective Sergeant Alex Macdonald described it as a “significant win” against organised crime.
"Wayne Namana lined his pockets from misery and suffering. Users of the drugs that Namana pushed suffered, along with their families and the community," Macdonald said.
"A massive amount of work went into tracking the profits he made, and it’s satisfying to strip these assets from him. It’s a great day."
Namana was jailed for five years in 2019 after being charged with leading a family network responsible for the sale and supply of methamphetamine in Wairarapa.
Forfeiture orders had already been issued against two of Namana's children involved in the syndicate, Chanel Namana and Merepeka Namana.
Chanel was sentenced to six years and four months for her role in the drug dealing, while Merepeka was sentenced to nine months' home detention.
Another associate, Michael Hanna, was convicted of supplying the family meth and was sentenced to 12 years and eight months in prison in September 2019. Hanna had a profit forfeiture order of more than $5 million granted against him.
Police said it would continue targeting organised crime through both criminal and civil action to remove "illegitimate wealth" from offenders.
“Methamphetamine causes serious harm to our communities, and has a particularly harmful impact in smaller communities, like the Wairarapa."
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