A former international rugby player accused of supplying guns to the Comancheros gang kept his name secret when he appeared in the Tauranga District Court on Tuesday morning.
Judge John Walker said he was satisfied “extreme hardship” would result if the man were to be named. He granted interim name suppression until the man’s trial and remanded him on bail.
The man, who played Super Rugby and also represented New Zealand, faces charges of unlawfully possessing firearms, fraud and making a false complaint to police.
According to a previous report by the NZ Herald, the man allegedly bought five Alfa Carbine rifles from two Auckland gun stores, using more than $10,000 given to him by a Comanchero.
He is then alleged to have laid a complaint with police that the firearms had been stolen, and later made a successful insurance claim, the paper reported.
The man’s lawyer, David Pawson, argued that naming him would severely impact his reputation and employment, causing extreme hardship.
The former rugby player was supported in court by his wife. He declined to comment as he left the court.
3 comments
Overit
Posted on 02-08-2023 12:33 | By overit
What the heck, name & shame the criminal. Whats up with these Judges.
Law to lenient
Posted on 02-08-2023 13:36 | By oceans
Those guns could have been used for crimes by the gang. I hope the guns were seized by police. He knew that what he was doing was wrong and yet he continued. Too many people plead insanity, hardship, or some other equally poor excuse to reduce any sentence or support name suppression. Courts should be tougher with crime. There will be more crimes with the huge number of people being allowed into the country. Many of these people haven't been vetted properly.
Grow some rugby balls
Posted on 02-08-2023 17:48 | By Blue Angel
Man up to your crimes brother name an shame
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