The last man standing in the Desert Rd murder case is Zhicheng (Michael) Gu. The Crown, his co-defendants and other associates all say he stabbed and killed a man, but his lawyers say he wasn't even there and all those men are lying for their own benefit.

Over the last three and a half weeks, jurors at the High Court at Auckland have had an inside look into the methamphetamine business in New Zealand.

That business, and perhaps his greed, is what ended up getting Bao Chang (Ricky) Wang killed.

Gu denies murdering Wang in August 2017. Wang's remains were found in an unmarked grave off the Desert Rd in the central North Island in 2020, after a member of the drug syndicate told police about the murder.

Police weren't even aware Wang was missing.

On Wednesday, the prosecution and defence closed their cases to the jury.

Crown prosecutor Matthew Nathan told the jurors there were multiple layers to this case, similar to the multiple layers the police had to meticulously and carefully dig to find Wang's body.

Nathan asked jurors to put themselves in the shoes of Brother Six (Jian Qi Zhao) – the head of the drug syndicate – who ordered the murder of Wang.

Brother Six found out Wang, one of his meth cooks, was planning to kidnap, supplant him as the head of the importation of ephedrine into New Zealand, or even kill him.

'We know the architect of Ricky Wang's murder was Brother Six,” Nathan said.

When Brother Six found out this, he brought in his 'inner-circle” which were Gu, Gaoxiang (Gordon) Yu and a man known as Kang Kang.

Nathan submitted Yu, Gu and other members of the drugs syndicate would significantly suffer financially if Brother Six was cut from the source.

'Brother Six is the head of the snake. If you cut off the head, the snake dies,” Nathan said.

Despite some members minimising the amount of money they made, it was clear it was likely to be in the millions, the court heard.

Nathan submitted Brother Six wasn't a man who had a 'knee-jerk” reaction to receiving the news about Wang.

He didn't lose control and kill Wang.

Brother Six was methodical, controlled, meticulous and carefully planned the murder while also ensuring he was removed from it.

Nathan said it just didn't make sense Wang would be killed at his own Symonds St apartment, where his name is on the lease, surrounded by CCTV.

He also said it wasn't plausible an underweight drug dealer and effectively a one-armed man, Yu, would overpower Wang, a man roughly 100kg.

Both Brother Six and Gu have admitted their parts in the murder, and are serving prison sentences.

Nathan submitted there was an overwhelming amount of direct evidence that Gu was at the heart of the murder.

'Whether he did it because Brother Six directed him to, or secure financial future or both is irrelevant.

'The only logical inference is that Michael Gu was directly involved and that he is the person who inflicted the fatal blow,” Nathan told the jury.

Defence case

Gu's lawyer, Julie-Anne Kincade KC, painted a very different picture in her closing address.

'Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive,” Kincade quoted Scottish historian Sir Walter Scott.

Kincade said every one of the co-defendants in this case had lied, covered up and minimised their involvement in Wang's murder to benefit themselves.

'Not one of them cared for the truth – all they cared about was themselves.”

Yanlong (Tony) Piao was the biggest liar of them all, she said. An audacious, arrogant and unbelievable man.

Piao was the man who led police to Wang's remains in 2020, but he didn't initially tell police about Yu's involvement.

Kincade also said there was no direct evidence that Wang had been stabbed.

She said her client wasn't a 'tough, gang guy” but a meth cook. In August 2017, Gu got married and had asked for time off for his honeymoon.

Kincade submitted Gu wasn't involved in any of the discussions about the plan to kill.

Yu was the one who killed Wang, Kincade said.

He was the one with the gang connections and the others had mixed together truth and lies because of what Piao told police.

'You might want to consider who had the means, motive and opportunity – the drug lord and Gordon to a lesser extent the gang enforcer,” she said.

Yu also told the court he saw Gu stab Wang with his right hand, but Gu was left-handed, Kincade said.

She said there was nothing in evidence, electronic data or phone calls putting Gu at the scene of the murder.

'There is nothing, nothing, nothing. Nothing except the lying Mr Piao and the incentives Mr Zhao and Mr Yu.”

Kincade said the only verdict in this case was not guilty.

Justice Simon Moore will sum up the case to the jury on today before they retire to deliberate.

-Catrin Owen/Stuff.