logo
Police probe unexplained death in Newtown

Police probe unexplained death in Newtown

RNZ News09-06-2025
Photo:
RNZ / REECE BAKER
Police say they are probing a sudden death in the Wellington suburb of Newtown.
About 7.15pm on Saturday police were called to a property on Mansfield Street.
Detective Inspector Nick Pritchard says a scene examination is due to conclude on Monday, and the post-mortem was taking place.
"Members of the Newtown community may notice an increased police presence in the area while enquiries are ongoing."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

What does a drug shipment 'catcher' earn for picking up the haul?
What does a drug shipment 'catcher' earn for picking up the haul?

1News

time2 hours ago

  • 1News

What does a drug shipment 'catcher' earn for picking up the haul?

After a West Auckland builder was yesterday sentenced to five years in prison for collecting what he thought was a shipment of 200kg of meth, Yvonne Tahana looks at the economics behind drug operations. The value of a large consignment of drugs quickly spirals when you start doing the maths, as Detective Superintendent Greg Williams, head of Police's National Organised Crime Group, explains. Asked about the 200kg of meth that Joshua Auina-Anae thought he was picking up from a commercial unit in Hobsonville in November 2023, Williams said you're looking at 'about $130,000 a kilo... that's a wholesale price'. Inside police's fake meth bust that fooled a Kiwi builder - watch on TVNZ+ A quick calculation therefore gives the total price for the shipment, which unbeknown to Auina-Anae had already been intercepted in China, at $26 million. ADVERTISEMENT But Williams isn't finished. "Then it's cut down into ounce prices, which sell for around $5000 an ounce. And then by the time it hits the street, it's at gram prices which are sitting around $480 to $380 sort of price. Now you're in the range of $76 million to $96 million." Methamphetamine was swapped out with a dummy substance. (Source: NZ Police) So what did Auina-Anae stand to gain for going to collect the haul? He'd never been in trouble before and worked in construction – in fact, he ran his own business. But he found himself caught up in an international law enforcement effort involving a tip-off from China's Anti-Smuggling Bureau. 'Cleanskin', 'catcher' or 'door' This led to the meth he was expecting to collect being switched out for a dummy substance. And police and Customs were waiting for him when he went to pick it up in his role as, to use the various terms used, a "cleanskin", "catcher" or "door". ADVERTISEMENT The terms all point in roughly the same direction. Williams said: "The reality is that transnational crime sitting outside the country, and the organised crime groups sitting inside the country, often refer to 'doors' – doors into the country. Detective Superintendent Greg Williams says the incentive comes down to greed. (Source: 1News) "So often, a door is, 'I've corrupted someone within the system at the border or someone prepared to take this risk, someone without any criminal history who's prepared to be the front person or the 'catcher', and then they organise the shipment into the country." In the Auckland District Court yesterday, Judge Evangelos Thomas heard that Auina-Anae was at the bottom of the chain. A police DVD recording of the offender's statement "advised that he received orders to do the job from an unknown person". Auina-Anae's lawyer Jasper Rhodes said his client was expecting payment. "And he's been candid about that,' he said. ADVERTISEMENT The granite slabs the "methamphetamine" was imported in. (Source: NZ Police) However, he said the amount would be 'absolutely disproportionate to the profits that the leading offenders were expecting to earn". He wouldn't be expecting figures in the millions. Williams said he knew of a "catcher" in Christchurch pulling cocaine out of a container who received about $40,000 to take the risk. "And it comes down to that greed aspect to this, right? And that's the chilling bit here. These groups cannot operate unless they corrupt people in and around the border or people like this prepared to do it." Auina-Anae walked through a different door yesterday and as he begins his time behind bars, he can reflect on whether the amount on offer was worth the risk. Watch more on this story on TVNZ+

Body found in search for diver missing from Lowry Bay in Wellington
Body found in search for diver missing from Lowry Bay in Wellington

RNZ News

time2 hours ago

  • RNZ News

Body found in search for diver missing from Lowry Bay in Wellington

A search is underway for a diving missing in Lowry Bay. File picture. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver Lower Hutt police say they have found the body of a diver reported missing in Lowry Bay. Police were called at 11 o'clock this morning after the diver failed to surface when expected. The Police National Dive Squad searched the area and found the body at about 5pm. They are providing support to the next of kin. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

Private Security Personnel Licensing Authority cancels licences for guards accused of turning up to police events
Private Security Personnel Licensing Authority cancels licences for guards accused of turning up to police events

RNZ News

time3 hours ago

  • RNZ News

Private Security Personnel Licensing Authority cancels licences for guards accused of turning up to police events

By Jeremy Wilkinson, Open Justice reporter of The authority said Brent and Alison Shaw should have paid for the right security licence before they paid to have signwriting on their car. Photo: House and Farm Security / Facebook A security guard drew the ire of police for allegedly showing up to events and questioning witnesses, sometimes before the real cops turned up. Brent Shaw also painted a Toyota Wish with orange and blue patterns and lights similar to a police vehicle, and reportedly wore a uniform similar to actual police uniforms. Police became concerned that Shaw and an employee of his security business, House and Farm Security Service, were listening to police communications with a scanner and listed occasions where they would arrive at incidents in their security uniforms and signwritten vehicle, and collect information from people involved before police could arrive. The police radio frequency can be listened to in regional areas of New Zealand, but is encrypted within the main city centres. This prompted police to make a complaint to the Private Security Personnel Licensing Authority, which handles complaints about licensed security guards. Shaw and his wife Alison both had Certificates of Approval to work as employed security guards but didn't have a licence to run their own business because they couldn't afford the annual fees. Despite this, Shaw and an employee who didn't hold any kind of security licence would drive around New Plymouth in their signwritten vehicle for their unlicensed security business, House and Farm Security Service. The business advertised extensively through flyers, social media and business cards but only generated $320 worth of income in that period. According to a ruling by the authority released this week, the Shaws were found to have been running their business without a licence, and to have hired an employee to work as a security guard without a certificate of approval. "The fact the business was not successful and earned very little money does mean House and Farm Security Service does not fit within the definition of a crowd controller or property guard …" authority head Trish McConnell said. "Before spending money on their vehicle, uniforms, flyers and advertising Mr and Mrs Shaw should have applied for a security licence." Part of the Shaws' argument in response to the complaint from police was that they hadn't hired an employee because they didn't get any regular work, but had him work a one-off security gig at a local festival. McConnell said this was a breach of the licensing rules and in addition, they had allowed that worker to wear a uniform for several months and hold himself out as a legitimate security worker. It's the second time Shaw has fallen foul of the authority after receiving a warning in 2017 for operating a similar business without a licence. McConnell described the Shaws' conduct as "intentional and ongoing" and despite being warned about needing a licence, they didn't get one. McConnell cancelled both Brent and Alison Shaw's personal security licences and fined them $800, which was the cost of the annual licence for their business that they didn't pay when they set it up. Brian Shaw told NZME he denied having a scanner capable of listening to police communications, and turning up at incidents before actual police to talk to witnesses. Shaw claimed instead that on one occasion he had witnessed a car accident and taken down the details of a driver who had left the scene, which he passed on to police. * This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store