No doubt’ affluent gang boss receiving dodgy cash – but judge clears him of million-dollar drug charges
Brett Kerr-Laurie| The Press July 16, 2026
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361007238/no-doubt-affluent-gang-boss-receiving-dodgy-cash-judge-clears-him-million-dollar-drug-charges
A judge is sure an affluent gang boss was receiving illegitimate funds, but it is not enough to prove he was involved in a multimillion-dollar drug syndicate.
Justice Rachel Dunningham found Comanchero Motorcycle Club national commander Vetekina Naufahu not guilty on 25 serious organised crime and drug supply charges at the High Court at Christchurch on Thursday.
It followed a two-week judge-alone trial commencing in mid-June, in which Crown prosecutors Abbie Hollingworth and Claire Boshier argued the gang and a national, multimillion-dollar drug enterprise were one and the same.
Police cracked the network in late August 2024 following a major operation, arresting the entire Christchurch Comanchero chapter and seizing millions of dollars of cash, jewellery and drugs.
Seventeen of the 21 people arrested have since been convicted, including the South Island commander, Christchurch treasurer, two young underlings, a pair of identical twins, a barber-turned-drug runner, and another drug transporter
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During the trial Hollingworth and Boshier alleged Naufahu and three Comanchero associates or nominees – Petelo Sili, Wiremukingi Matakatea and Richard John Dodd – were all involved in the criminal group, which flew more than 30kg of methamphetamine and cocaine from low-security North Island airports to Christchurch in 2024.
Naufahu was charged with being a party to 23 successful or attempted drug trips based on his senior position in the gang, direct dealings with the Christchurch chapter and his “inexplicable affluent lifestyle”.
But Justice Dunningham found Naufahu guilty only of possessing 6.6g of cocaine for supply at his lavishly furnished $1050 weekly rental in Orewa, Auckland, where he kept designer clothes, a champagne collection, five vehicles, and two cash counters.
The judge Justice Dunningham said there was “no doubt” Naufahu was receiving more than his legitimate income – a government benefit – but his spending patterns extended well before the alleged offending and before he became the gang’s national commander.
“While I am sure he was benefiting from funds which were not sourced legitimately … it does not assist me to conclude with certainty that Mr Naufahu both knew of and directed the drug dealing operation,” she said.
The judge found other actions that allegedly implicated Naufahu in the enterprise were too generic. This included visiting and disciplining the Christchurch chapter, which his lawyer Ron Mansfield, KC, argued was simply consistent with his seniority.
Naufahu is a founding member of the New Zealand Comancheros and the brother of its president, Pasilika Naufahu, who recently told a judge he planned to step away from the gang.
The trial heard expert evidence about the gang’s hierarchical nature, including that senior members insulated themselves from criminal offending conducted by junior members.
Mansfield specifically cautioned Justice Dunningham about giving too much weight to this evidence and argued the expert giving the evidence did not know exactly what Naufahu’s role entailed.
While the national commander largely escaped conviction, Sili, Matakatea and Dodd were all found guilty of participating in the organised criminal
Sili was further found guilty of possessing and offering to supply a Class A drug, while Dodd was found guilty of a singular and representative charge of supplying Class A drugs.
The defendants were scheduled for sentencing in October.
-The Press
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