High Court orders two men facing drug and other charges not to sell $1.9m of assets

The High Court in Hamilton has ordered two men charged with selling drugs and participating in organised crime not to sell $1.9 million worth of assets.

The assets include nearly $1 million worth of Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs, and cryptocurrency.

As well as a house in Taupiri, four vehicles, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and $47,000 cash, the court ordered the NFTs and crypto-currency purchased for $930,812 to be “restrained”.

The court has ordered a restraining order on the pair from disposing of the assets while the case is underway.

The two men who are both aged 28 and are from Waikato and Auckland are among six men arrested in June 2022 as part of a police operation, called Poapoa.

The men are facing a range of charges, including participating in organised crime, and selling and supplying Class A and B drugs.

“Police secured restraining orders for these assets pursuant to the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009,” Detective Senior Sergeant Keith Kay of the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Asset Recovery Unit said in a statement.

“These asset restraints are the result of our staff’s ongoing work to disrupt the operations of those who seek to profit from the sale and supply of illicit drugs and other financially generated crime,” he said.

The Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act enabled police to recover criminal proceeds, as well as preventing criminals from reinvesting the proceeds of their crime to cause more harm, he said.