Jamie Mannion sat atop a drug empire worth millions of dollars.
He imported, sold and supplied methamphetamine, MDMA, LSD, ketamine and cocaine.
But he lost control of it when Customs was finished sniffing around.
When Operation Whoosh, which investigated the large-scale importation of drugs into New Zealand, came to a head in March 2024, Mannion was arrested and charged.
On Wednesday, he appeared in the Christchurch District Court for sentencing.
Mannion, a tech entrepreneur who marketed himself as an “experienced educational leader with the ability to create, operationalise, and manage a diverse range of projects and teams”, masterminded the highly sophisticated national drug supply operation.
Crown prosecutor Will Taffs said Mannion was at the top of the pyramid.
The offending was highly premeditated, with Mannion running the operation like a business.
There were thousands of wholesale and retail transactions on “darknet shopfronts”.
“He would cut out wholesale and sell retail.”
The offending involved encrypted applications, cryptocurrency, Prezzy cards, multiple phones and a fake driver’s licence to boot, Taffs said.
The court heard there were 55 confirmed drug imports in the year to March 2024, which included 42kg of MDMA, 10kg of ketamine and 2kg of cocaine.
Taffs said some of the offending was predatory, as others had been caught up in Mannion’s operation.
Several of his co-offenders were in their teens at the time of the offending and were now serving jail sentences.
There were elements of grooming because the teens had started out buying the drugs from Mannion before going on to sell them.
Mannion’s partner and mother sat in the public gallery as his lawyer, Craig Tuck, referenced a report in which Mannion hadn’t denied the offending and had expressed remorse.
He said Mannion had been a heavy drug user with no previous convictions and had accepted that things got out of control.
Two distinct modus operandi
Judge Raoul Neave said it was one of the largest drug importation and distribution operations he had seen.
The MDMA had a retail value of $12 million, the cocaine $700,000, and the ketamine $3.2m.
Mannion lived in Tauranga and headed a drug network which spanned the country, the judge said, using two distinct modus operandi.
Mannion used a tasking website where people received packages on his behalf. They were paid with Prezzy cards.
He also used reputable businesses for the drug deliveries.
“He provided detailed instructions to those below him in the food chain,” Judge Neave said.
“He created dark web vendor sites and advertised the sale of drugs.
“He recruited others, including young men I have already sentenced.
“They were buyers who were then entrapped.”
The court heard there was a significant amount of texting activity. Included in that was a pitch to recruit others with “opportunities to expand your business”.
“Mr Taffs was spot on with predatory behaviour,” Judge Neave said.
“The offending was clearly highly premeditated.”
“He was well in control of what he was doing and knew what he was doing.”
That included spreadsheets to track parcels, buyers and sellers.
It was clear from electronic data through the investigation that there were numerous encrypted communications with claims he was the “top vendor” in New Zealand, the judge said.
Judge Neave sentenced Mannion to 12 years’ imprisonment.
A High Court judgment in January showed a financial analysis by police had identified Mannion receiving $182,000 in unexplained income, being a combination of cash deposits, direct credits from third parties and funds transferred from a cryptocurrency company.
Some of the funds had been used to fund mortgage payments on a Tauranga property.
Police had sought an order through the High Court to restrain Mannion from disposing of or dealing with the property, funds held in bank accounts, cryptocurrency wherever held, and any other property in which he had an interest.
