An uncle of former All Black Piri Weepu caught with a bag of 29g of cannabis head in his pocket, eight $50 "deal bags" and $610 cash after the vehicle he was in was pulled over in Hokitika, was this week sentenced to home detention.
Irai Weepu (50) was sentenced in the Greymouth District Court to nine months' home detention on each of the three charges. He will serve his electronically monitored sentence at the home of his brother and sister-in-law, the parents of the All Black, in Wainuioumata, Wellington.
Weepu was also sentenced to 100 hours of community work and ordered to undertake drug and alcohol assessment, along with a stopping violence programme and to abstain from alcohol.
The court heard that drug offending was a new one for Weepu, who had extensive criminal history.
He was the passenger in a car stopped by police in Hokitika at 11am on October. Police became suspicious of a strong smell of cannabis and proceeded to search the vehicle, turning up the cannabis and cash, as well as a pipe for smoking P and an electronic scale.
Judge Alistair Garland said he found it "hard to believe" Weepu's explanation that the cash was from the sale of greenstone, but noted that had not been pressed in defence.
The judge assessed a sentencing starting point of two years in prison, but accounting for other factors he reduced it to 19 months, which allowed the imposition of a community-based sentence for Weepu.
Judge Garland noted significant offending going back to 1988.
He told Weepu's lawyer Doug Taffs the problem was the money found was mainly in $50 notes, which corresponded with cannabis for supply, commonly known as "deal bags", found in the vehicle.
"He's telling you this is money for greenstone and apparently he has a receipt somewhere, but he's asking the court to infer that $610 he had on him at the time was from the sale of greenstone?" Judge Garland said.
The judge said he also needed to see real evidence of the credentials of a Maori drug and alcohol programme which Weepu was said to be participating in, which was described as a "cultural approach" to healing and well-being.
In reply, Mr Taffs said if the court were to consider an electronic sentence it would be at the Wainuioumata home of Weepu's brother and sister-in-law, whose son was Piri.
"They're certainly not going to put up with any nonsense," Mr Taffs said.
