Teenager from Taiwan jailed for importing drugs into NZ

WELLINGTON - A teenager from Taiwan was jailed for 11 and a half years on Thursday after he was convicted of importing 11 kg of "very pure" methamphetamine into New Zealand.

Shao-Hua Ho, 19, appeared for sentence in the Auckland District Court on charges of importing methamphetamine and possession for supply, the Fairfax news organization reported.

Ho arrived in New Zealand this year to assume the role of local organizer of the drug smuggling ring.

On March 3, five steel containers weighing 50 kg each arrived in New Zealand from Taiwan in wooden crates.

Ho applied for an importation license, picked up the containers with a truck and tried to find a storage shed with electricity so he could drill into the containers, but he was under surveillance by police and Customs the entire time.

Police arrested Ho and his accomplices as they were opening a box, said the report.

Judge Christopher Field, in the Auckland District Court, reportedly said it was a "remarkably pure shipment" of the drug that would have been valued at several million dollars.

Defense lawyer Shane Tait said Ho became involved with the drug smugglers after his family fell into debt, according to the report.

Though Ho admitted to being the New Zealand boss of the ring, he was clearly taking instruction from others back in Taiwan through constant text messages.

Judge Field said a minimum period of five years in prison was necessary, even though he would be deported as soon as he became eligible.