Latest news with #Faavaoga
Otago Daily Times
18-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Role in theft of crayfish admitted
A woman who was the pivotal insider in a King Cobras crayfish crime ring worth more than $200,000 has admitted her role in the scheme. Nicola Ann Nevard, 50, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday where she pleaded guilty to more than 30 charges of theft in a special relationship and one each of money laundering and possessing Ritalin. She was employed at the Fiordland Lobster Company's Sawyers Bay depot, which processes live crayfish for export to China, and worked her way up to the position of assistant factory manager, court documents said. But between April and September last year, Nevard used her position of responsibility to skim 1597 crays, worth $212,487. Her contact in the criminal underworld was 36-year-old patched King Cobras member Paul Faavaoga. He would place orders via cellphone message — often for 60-80 at a time — and Nevard would pack the seafood into polystyrene bins using ice gel and woodwool to keep them chilled. According to court documents, at times she would load the produce into her vehicle for delivery and on other occasions she used a local courier. Faavaoga airfreighted the bulk of the crayfish to associates around the country. In August, when the scam was it its peak, he placed one order for 110 crays — such a large amount that Nevard had to arrange a company truck to transport them from the factory. She resigned from her job when she became aware the Ministry for Primary Industries was investigating the rort. Banking records, obtained by the authorities in the course of the probe, revealed Nevard made cash deposits to her account and also had third parties deposit money. "On many occasions the same day she received these funds she transferred almost identical amounts to her stepmother's bank account," a police summary said. The payments were noted as "mortgage". Police discovered Nevard's home was owned by her stepmother and that the defendant received $5570 for the stolen seafood. When a search warrant was executed at her home, officers found 83 Ritalin tablets in a toiletries bag in her bedroom. The class-B controlled drug is used to treat ADHD, but is also used recreationally as a stimulant, known to produce feelings of euphoria and increased focus. While Nevard's home was being raided — during what was dubbed "Operation Larry" — police and Fisheries officers also descended on the King Cobras' Dunedin pad in David St. Faavaoga had been paying the mortgage on that property for a significant period and almost a quarter of the repayments over a three-year span had been funded by crayfish cash. In April, he pleaded guilty to 29 charges of receiving and two of money laundering. The court heard Faavaoga unwittingly left a trail for investigators as he would complete airway cargo declaration paperwork to have the stolen seafood airfreighted to associates around the country. The recipients would usually pay by bank transfer, referenced as "crays". Faavaoga is scheduled to be sentenced in September, while Nevard was remanded on bail until her sentencing in November.
Otago Daily Times
24-04-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Funds from stolen crayfish paid gang mortgage
A patched King Cobra member used money from a stolen crayfish racket to pay the mortgage on a gang pad and buy a car, a court has heard. Paul Faavaoga, 36, was arrested following the termination of police's "Operation Larry" in January and yesterday admitted receiving more than a tonne of stolen seafood worth nearly $200,000. The defendant appeared before the Dunedin District Court yesterday where he pleaded guilty to 29 charges of receiving and two of money laundering. The King Cobras' David St pad, raided by police and Fisheries officers in the co-ordinated sting, was being financed by Faavaoga, court documents revealed. He had been paying the mortgage on the property for a significant period and investigators found almost a quarter of the repayments during a three-year span had been funded by the sale of stolen crayfish. Between April and September last year, Faavaoga would place "orders" with a staff member at Fiordland Lobster Company who worked at the Sawyers Bay packing factory. A police summary noted the requests for the delicacy were sometimes made several times a week, usually involving 60-80 live crays. On August 5, Faavaoga asked for 110 and even noted in a message to his associate: "our biggest order to date". He requested the stolen crayfish be packed in woodwool and ice and he would pick them up from the insider's home. Over just five months, the defendant received 1274 crays, over 26 occasions, worth an estimated $196,600. Court documents said Faaavaoga would usually pay his contact in cash but made bank transfers a couple of times. While the method of acquisition may have been shady, the distribution was above board — and easy for authorities to track. Faavaoga transported most of the crayfish to Dunedin Airport and would complete airway cargo declaration paperwork to have the haul airfreighted to associates around the country. The recipients would usually pay for the stolen seafood by bank transfer, referenced as "crays". In August, Faavaoga visited a car yard in Kaikorai Valley Rd where he agreed to buy a 2013 Subaru Legacy, funded, at least in part, by the illegally obtained funds. He paid $6000 cash and the remaining $4345 by bank transfer, the court heard. At the court hearing yesterday, counsel Sarah Saunderson-Warner highlighted the fact her client only had driving crimes to his name. The defendant was working and had two children in his care part-time, she said. Judge Emma Smith remanded Faavaoga on bail and ordered a report to consider the viability of home detention. Sentencing will take place in September. The co-defendant, a 49-year-old Dunedin woman who faces 33 charges of theft in a special relationship and one of money laundering and possessing Ritalin, has not yet entered pleas and will appear in court again next month.
