One of the men charged in relation to an alleged Mexican cartel-linked plot to import large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine into New Zealand has pleaded guilty to four charges.
Angel Gavito Alverado entered the guilty pleas at the High Court in Tauranga on Thursday to four charges - money laundering, possession of methamphetamine for supply and two charges of conspiracy to import methamphetamine.
Alverado was convicted by Justice Graham Lang and will be sentenced at the High Court in Rotorua on November 11 this year.
Stuff had earlier obtained court documents that shed new light on an alleged cocaine importation plot, including deliveries of the drug to suburban addresses and cash transfers to Mexican banks.
Alverado's money laundering charge related to him depositing $20,600 into a bank account in New Zealand on January 14 last year, six days later transferring $19,676 'to a bank account in Mexico”.
The Crown Charge Notice alleges that during 2020 and 2021 packages containing cocaine, one containing 300g of the drug, were sent to suburban properties in Rotorua.
A package containing 215g of methamphetamine was also alleged to have been sent.
Auckland addresses were also alleged to have received packages with 300g and 310g amounts of cocaine and one alleged to contain 215g of methamphetamine.
The other men facing charges are Tangaroa Demant, James Dickson, Allison Dos Santos, Jeffrey Gear, Manual Moreno Gonzalez, Maurice Swinton, Tama Waitai and Ryan Walsh.
Swinton was employed at a stevedoring business contracted to the Port of Tauranga.
All pleaded not guilty to a raft of charges including conspiracy to import cocaine, importing cocaine, money laundering, possession of cocaine for supply, conspiracy to import methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine for supply, conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, unlawful possession of a firearm and cultivating cannabis.
Some charges carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and some alleged offending stretches back to 2020.
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