Mob four jailed for drugs

The criminal underbelly of the Waikato Mongrel Mob was yesterday exposed as a senior gang member and his associates were jailed for drug trafficking.

Waikato mobster Michael Ormsby, 27, together with Mose Douglas Iakopo, 29, Rocky James Manga, 30, and Priscilla Paretutaki Hayward-Howie, 42, were handed a combined prison sentence of 16 years for their involvement in the gang's drug trade.

After a five-week trial last year, the four accused were found guilty of conspiracy to supply methamphetamine. Ormsby, Manga and Hayward-Howie were also found guilty of conspiracy to sell cannabis. Ormsby was found guilty of a further charge of conspiracy to supply lysergide (LSD).

The group's offending was revealed during a 2 1/2-month covert police investigation in 2007, dubbed Operation Forest, which intercepted thousands of text messages and phone calls between Waikato Mongrel Mob members and associates.

The police operation cul-minated on December 6 with a series of property searches and the arrest of 28 people, many of whom later pleaded guilty to various drug offences. Yesterday at the High Court in Hamilton, the four accused were led separately into court before a packed public gallery.

The 3 1/2-hour proceedings were punctuated by brief adjournments as security officers led each accused away before bringing the next into court for sentencing.

Ormsby was jailed for seven years, while Iakopo and Manga each received a 3 1/2-year jail sentence. Justice Keane sentenced Hayward-Howie to two years' jail but granted her leave to apply for home detention if a suitable address was found.

Crown prosecutor Mark Sturm said while it was difficult to quantify the exact amount of drugs trafficked by the four accused, the evidence revealed consistent and repetitive drug dealing.

The court was told the Mongrel Mob's Waikato chapter operated within a hierarchical structure, with Ormsby working as the gang's principal methamphetamine dealer – facilitating and organising deals.

Working under Ormsby's command, Iakopo and Manga acted as street sellers and "enforcers", collecting payments from buyers. Ormsby would then pass the drug payments on to the gang's leadership.

Defence counsel Kerry Tustin accepted Ormsby was involved in a commercial conspiracy to supply P, but rejected the Crown's submission it was a sophisticated operation.

In sentencing, Justice Keane said the group's offending was "not simply a conspiracy" but featured actual drug sales.

Defence counsel Bruce Hesketh submitted Hayward-Howie's involvement in the gang's drug trade was fuelled by her "overwhelming" drug use.

Hayward-Howie used the drug deals to fund her P habit, he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News