DRUG RUNNER CONVICTED BEFORE TRIAL

An Auckland jury made legal history yesterday when it found an Iranian
wrestler guilty of importing more than a million dollars worth of
methamphetamine before any evidence was called in his trial.

At the High Court in Auckland the jury, on the direction of Justice
Simon France, found Majid Safaei Javid, 34, of Glenfield, guilty of
importing and supplying crystal methamphetamine.

Justice France had, in agreement with Javid's lawyer Barry Hart, asked
the jury to return the verdicts at the start of the trial. He
explained that Mr Hart wanted to appeal a decision about the
admissibility of some evidence.

Mr Hart had earlier argued in the High Court that some evidence could
not be presented to the jury but the decision released last Friday had
gone against his client.

That evidence, which could now be put to the jury, would ensure the
Crown could prove its case against Javid.

Justice France invited the jury to trust his assessment of the
situation and find Javid guilty now. Mr Hart could then appeal his
conviction at the Court of Appeal on the grounds that the evidence
should not have been admissible.

After a short break the jurors returned with guilty
verdicts.

Crown prosecutor Ross Burns congratulated the jury for making legal
history.

"No accused person has ever asked a jury to convict him. You've been
involved in something unique."

Mr Burns stressed the guilty verdicts had no bearing on Javid's
co-accused Choi Yuen Chong, who has denied importing and supplying the
methamphetamine.

In opening her trial, Mr Burns said Chong, 34, had brought the drug
into New Zealand from her home country of Malaysia in March last year.

Chong was part of an organised ring, which included Javid as the New
Zealand recipient, he said.

She had travelled to Christchurch via Singapore with 1.25kg of
methamphetamine, worth about $1.25 million, concealed in the gap of a
wheeled suitcase where the handle to pull the case was stored.

New Zealand police had meanwhile intercepted calls between Javid and
an unknown man who travelled to Christchurch and went to Chong's hotel
room. Mr Burns said the meeting was recorded, as Javid told the man to
leave his hands-free cellphone switched on so he could hear everything
that went on.

Chong produced the suitcase, which she took down to the
carpark.

Mr Burns said security footage would show Chong "curiously" trailing
behind the man by a few feet.

The bag was handed over and taken to Auckland, where police found it
at a Mt Roskill address with other drugs.

Mr Burns said the critical issue was whether Chong was aware the bag
had the drugs in it. The Crown argued she was.

When apprehended in Auckland airport as she was trying to leave the
country, Chong told Customs officers that her boyfriend had asked her
to bring the bag to New Zealand. She said he got her to unpack her
clothes from the suitcase she had intended to travel with and
transferred them into the other suitcase.

In New Zealand Chong sent a text message to her boyfriend saying she
never knew there were drugs in the bag.

Mr Burns put that down to Chong panicking upon learning the police had
discovered the drugs in Auckland.

He had earlier said that, given Malaysia's tough attitude towards drug
trafficking, one would have expected that Chong would have been wary
of taking a suitcase other than her own.

Dilworth Grizzlies Wrestling Club coaching co-ordinator Iain Adamson
was shocked to hear of Javid's drug convictions.

"I am astounded ... I wondered what had happened to
him."

Javid was a former member of the club and had not trained there for a
couple of years.