Pubdate: Sat, 19 Jun 2004 Source: Press, The (New Zealand) Copyright: 2004 The Christchurch Press Company Ltd. Contact: http://www.press.co.nz/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/349 Author: Dean Calcott DRUG INVESTIGATION NAMED AFTER DEVIL A Mixture Of Good Old-fashioned Spying And High-tech Interceptions Helped Police Crack A Major Methamphetamine Ring In The South Island. Dean Calcott Reports. They called it Operation Diablo. The name of the Devil. The police codename was inspired by the licence plate of one of the key players in a methamphetamine gang convicted in Christchurch this week, but it could have equally applied to the drug itself. For months, police in Dunedin and Christchurch had been noticing a big increase in the numbers of people using the drug, pointing to a readily available supply in local markets. Relatively cheap to manufacture and in high demand by drug users, methamphetamine is an easy moneymaker for those willing to risk their liberty. It is also habit-forming, can cause psychosis and physical debilitation for users. The police suspicions led to an intensive and covert operation in both cities last year that this week resulted in the convictions of five men on a raft of serious drug charges. Police have hailed it as a significant breakthrough in the war on the booming methamphetamine trade, saying it will make a "considerable impact" on the supply of the drug to the nightclub scene in both cities. As the trial unfolded in Christchurch over the past three weeks, it painted a picture of police operations based partly on good old-fashioned surveillance and partly on high-tech interceptions of phone conversations and text messages. Last August, the two forces set up twin operations, dubbed "Diablo" in Christchurch and "Mexican" in Dunedin. Through information gleaned in an unrelated inquiry, Christchurch police suspected James Samson, a high-profile Christchurch strip club operator, was supplying meth ingredients to others. Meth is made from, among other things, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine which are chemicals extracted from common cold medication. Police believed Samson who inspired the operation moniker through the 1DEVIL plate on his yellow Holden Monaro was sourcing the chemicals through an associate, Rota Beattie. In Dunedin, police attention focused on David John Tate, a well-known drug user who had received extensive counselling for drug abuse, but had reverted back to his old habits and was suspected of running clandestine laboratories. The fourth man, Anthony Paul Rymer, came into the scheme for his cooking skills. He was able to follow the detailed recipe for methamphetamine and do the baking, a volatile and risky process prone to explosion and chemical contamination. Based on their suspicions and shared intelligence, police set up covert surveillance on a vacant house in Pinehurst Crescent, Christchurch, owned by a relative of Samson. . They listened and watched. It was not long before the watchers spotted Samson, Tate and Rymer coming and going from the supposedly empty house. Curtains were drawn at unusual times for no apparent reason, and several people visited late at night. Samson was seen buying three bags of ice at a nearby service station early one morning. Ice is a necessary part of the cooking process for methamphetamine. Police decided that these factors, seemingly innocent when taken individually, together pointed to a clandestine meth laboratory in the house. About the same time, police in Dunedin began observations on an address used by Tate, and began intercepting Samson's and Tate's cellphone calls and text messages. They soon concluded Tate was making methamphetamine in Dunedin. In the High Court in Christchurch, the Crown said Tate and Rymer were the main manufacturers and Samson obtained the precursor substances, which were supplied by Beattie. Many of the intercepted conversations referred to drug-making in roundabout terms, with various code words being used to avoid incriminating words or phrases. These included Henry, shirts or P for methamphetamine, water meaning a type of acid used in the manufacturing process, robots, a type of pharmacy medicine used to obtain a precursor substance, and "E" to the precursor substance ephedrine, or the party drug Ecstasy. The group used a series of nicknames Josh for Beattie, J or Jimmy for Samson, Dan or Mac for Tate, Gillette for Rymer and Sideshow for another male dealt with in the Youth Court. Police also heard grumbles about problems the group was experiencing, such as a baking having gone wrong, and the meth getting contaminated by chemical reaction when it was transported in metallic film canisters. Police also heard grumbles about problems the group was experiencing, such as a baking having gone wrong, and the meth getting contaminated by chemical reaction when it was transported in metallic film canisters. They uncovered interchanges of methamphetamine and chemicals between Christchurch and Dunedin. For example, they showed 17 grams of methamphetamine had been sent up to Samson about mid-June, worth about $17,000 in its pure form and a lot more when "cut". The fifth man, Nathan Brian Carruth, who used the codename Nigger, was a close associate of Tate and was brought into the gang as someone who could deal in the larger amounts of the drug, such as a gram at a time, that the syndicate was aiming for. But all was not sweetness and light in the group. As time went on, the police intercepted calls showing an emerging split. Tate, Rymer and Samson had been a tight group, but Tate and Rymer had become frustrated by Samson's apparent increasing unwillingness to provide the precursor substance and suspected him of holding back. They wanted him out of the syndicate. The two went directly to the source, Rota Beattie, and struck a new deal that he would supply the precursor and chemicals, and help sell methamphetamine. On October 8, Tate and Rymer went to Dunedin to do a bake. But at that point police decided matters had gone far enough, ended the operation and executed search warrants at a number of addresses in both cities. A methamphetamine recipe was found at Samson's Russley Road home, which he claimed had been posted to one of his clubs in a prison envelope. Traces of methamphetamine were found on a mirror. A number of small plastic bags were also found, which Samson claimed were for sales of herbal sex enhancement pills that he sold using free-to-dial numbers and through his clubs. He also sold a type of herbal "speed". That explanation fell down when police found the numbers did not come into effect until mid-December, well after the arrests. No methamphetamine was found at the nightclubs Samson operated Calendar Girls, K. O.T. Ugly and the Vestry despite thorough searches by police. At the Dunedin house used by Rymer and Tate, equipment was found which constituted a clandestine laboratory. Their fingerprints were found on some of the items. Methamphetamine-related items were also found at Beattie's and Carruth's addresses. At one Christchurch address connected with the conspiracy, a drum of toluene, a chemical found in brake cleaner and used to make meth, was found as well as empty bottles of a pharmacy medicine used to extract a precursor. As for the Dunedin house used by Rymer and Tate, ESR scientist Megan Chalmers gave evidence it was a typical New Zealand-style portable methamphetamine operation, capable of being packed up quickly into a couple of carry bags. In a preliminary court hearing, some of the defendants made no bones about their involvement with drugs. Tate and Rymer both admitted conspiring to supply and manufacture methamphetamine at depositions, Tate also admitting making and supplying methamphetamine. Samson told the court in evidence he had bought methamphetamine, but had never personally used it. He said it was bought to keep the domestic peace with his partner, who was a user. Samson claimed he despised drugs, his late brother having fallen victim to drug addiction. When the jury returned its verdict on Thursday, Samson, Beattie and Carruth, all aged 29, were found guilty on charges of conspiring to make methamphetamine. Samson and Carruth were also found guilty on a charge of conspiring to supply the drug. Samson and Rymer, 45, were found guilty on a charge of making methamphetamine, and Tate, 42, and Rymer guilty of unlawfully possessing laboratory equipment. The group, facing potentially long jail sentences, will be sentenced in mid-July by Justice Panckhurst. Police were reluctant to comment on the convictions until after the sentencing but have previously hailed the bust as an important breakthrough in the ongoing fight to stem the meth supply. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D