STASH WORTH JUST $650

The visiting billionaire businessman whose drugs charges were thrown out by
an Auckland court jeopardised his reputation for $650 worth of drugs.

Detective Sergeant Mike Paki said the man's 56g of hashish was worth
about $500 and his 47g of cannabis plant was worth about $150.

The billionaire, caught as he entered the country, was discharged
without conviction from the Otahuhu District Court by Judge David
Harvey and granted name suppression.

The Herald tried yesterday to obtain a transcript of Otahuhu District
Court proceedings from last Thursday when the man's case was first
heard.

This was done on the understanding that the transcript may have
detailed why his lawyer, Marie Dyhrberg, requested name suppression
and her arguments for his release without conviction.

However, the court said Judge Harvey was overseas for the week and
would not be available to sign the transcript for public release until
he returned.

The Auckland Crown Solicitor, Simon Moore, said he had not received
any instructions to appeal against the name suppression.

He said the Crown appealed against name suppressions "from time to
time" but it was not usual.

The Crown Law Office in Wellington also said it had not as yet been
asked by police to appeal and that any request would follow the usual
processes.

The Herald has received a large number of phone calls and letters from
people in support of its legal action, including one from a man who
offered $100 towards the paper's legal fund.

Meanwhile, as debate continues about whether the man's name should
have been published on the Internet, it appears Judge Harvey is
something of a fan of the medium.

He has created a large series of Web pages for himself and maintains
the district courts' Website.

He was also a member of the Justice Department's committee which
oversaw the provision of computers and software for judges.