The last two people charged in relation to New Zealand’s biggest methamphetamine haul have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
Stevie Norua Cullen and Selaima Fakaosilea appeared in the High Court at Whangārei this morning before Justice Gordon.
Cullen has been sentenced to 27 years in prison with a minimum period of imprisonment of nine years.
Fakaosilea has been sentenced to 12 years and six months to be served cumulatively on the 14 years and six months sentence she was given last year for further drug dealing following the Northland bust.
She was given a minimum period of imprisonment of seven years.
The 30-year-old was born in Auckland to parents of Tongan descent but went to school in Australia.
Lawyers for both said the pair's involvement in the operation had been relatively menial, providing logistical support for the main players.
But Justice Gordon said Cullen had been a trusted lieutenant who organised boats, cars and motels for the group.
And Fakaosilea was no naive pawn as she claimed, but had played an important role handling cash and communications.
The pair were tried and convicted in June on serious drug charges for their roles in the haul. A total of eight people were charged.
Six other people are already in prison after admitting their roles in the operation.
They are Fakaosilea's brother Ulakai Fakaosilea, Malachi Tuilotolava, Jeremiah Iusitini, Amoki Fonua and Ka Yip Wan.
It was the country's biggest known methamphetamine operation, with more than 500kg found on board a boat that washed up on 90 Mile Beach in Northland in June 2016.
The methamphetamine haul, discovered in a campervan hidden in sandhills, was estimated to be worth almost half a billion dollars.