CELEB DRUG RING SUPPLIER JAILED FOR FOUR YEARS

The Man Said to Be the Kingpin of a White Collar Celebrity Drug Ring
Was Making a Lot of Money, a Judge Said Today.

John Francis Waterworth, 56, was jailed for four-and-a-half years for
running a drug ring which also snared sporting celebrities Marc Ellis
and Brent Todd.

In the High Court in Auckland today Justice Raynor Asher told
Waterworth he was dealing drugs, mainly ecstasy, at a significant
scale and making a lot of money.

After buying the tablets for $30 each, Waterworth sold them for $60.

He jailed Waterworth on 16 drugs charges involving cocaine,
methamphetamine and ecstasy. He ordered a minimum non-parole period
of two years and three months.

Another man, Adamu Awahdi, 31, supplied Waterworth with ecstasy and
was jailed for three years and three months on three charges with no
minimum non-parole term.

The judge said Waterworth was a drug user and addicted to
methamphetamine when he was dealing and when police put him under
surveillance for a month.

He had got into the habit of supplying people with drugs for profit.

"He was known as someone who could obtain drugs on request."

His profits for the month police were watching him were estimated at
up to $75,140.

He was a central figure in a supply ring involving "quite a number of users".

The users would approach Waterworth instead of someone on the street.

The judge said a starting point for Waterworth was seven-and-a-half
years but he deserved a discount of 40 per cent for his genuine
remorse, his attempts to deal with his addiction since he had been in
custody and his guilty plea.

He said Awahdi was closer to the source of the drugs and was prepared
to profit by being the person in the middle.

He rejected a submission by Awahdi's lawyer, Sanjay Patel, that he
was not dealing in drugs for money.

The charges against him were not as serious as those against
Waterworth but Awahdi would have made a substantial profit.

Outside the court the policeman in charge of the case, Detective
Sergeant Geoff Baber, said he agreed with the comment in court that
Awahdi had shown no motivation to change.

"That's Awahdi."

Mr Baber said he also found it difficult to believe Awahdi was not
making money.

"I find it difficult to believe somebody would do this type of
business and not make money."

He said Awahdi had not co-operated and told police who his source for
the drugs was although police had "an idea."

Two more people had yet to be tried on drugs charges but the
sentencing today of Waterworth and Awahdi took the count of people
with drug convictions from the drug ring to 14.

Mr Baber would not comment on others who were implicated but not
charged, including former All Black Josh Kronfeld and television
celebrity Lana Coc Kroft.

In September Brent Todd was fined $500 in Auckland District Court for
procuring cocaine from Waterworth. Ellis was fined $300 for possessing ecstasy.