Shane Ngakuru was last seen in Phuket, Thailand but is believed to have fled. Photo / Provided
A global manhunt is underway for a New Zealand mobster believed to be a key player in the trafficking of encrypted phones that the FBI secretly controlled and ultimately used to eliminate hundreds of organized crime figures around the world.
And for the first time, the Herald can publish a photo of Shane Ellwood Ngakuru – a high-ranking member of the Comancheros MC gang – on the run from the FBI and New Zealand police.
Ngakuru, 42, is a cousin of Duax Hohepa Ngakuru, the “international commander” of the Comancheros who is believed to be behind some of the world’s biggest drug deals and controlling business from Turkey under aliases such as Negotiator, Bullseye, Chuck Norris and El Mito. (The myth).
Global crime agencies launched coordinated raids in 16 countries, including New Zealand, in June last year and made more than 800 arrests, seized tons of drugs and uncovered millions in cash , after secretly spying on organized crime through a secret FBI. phone application developed.
Shane Ngakuru was identified in US court documents after the ‘sting of the century’ Operation Trojan Shield as part of a select group of criminals who distributed the Anom communication devices.
The FBI alleged that he accepted payments for the $2,000 subscription fee for six months.
Ngakuru was last believed to be living on the Thai island of Phuket and considered a fugitive by the FBI. New Zealand does not have an extradition treaty with Thailand.
But Detective Superintendent Greg Williams of the New Zealand Police’s National Organized Crime Unit told the Herald they now believe Ngakuru has left Phuket.
His fate remains “unknown”, but Williams confirmed New Zealand police have issued a warrant for his arrest.
A “Red Notice” was also issued – a request for law enforcement around the world to locate and provisionally arrest a person “pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action”.
While he wanted to face allegations in the US under US anti-racketeering laws, Ngakuru is also facing criminal charges in New Zealand.
Charges of importing methamphetamine, cocaine and MDMA into New Zealand, as well as charges of drug conspiracy, money laundering and participation in an organized criminal group, have been brought to court in Hamilton District last year.
It is alleged that Ngakuru was based in Thailand to act as a fixer, or “super-facilitator”, between the Comancheros and Asian organized crime syndicates.
Intelligence reports handed over to New Zealand police point to transnational drug syndicates using super-enablers to foster a successful methamphetamine supply chain.
“A super-enabler has links to a global network of manufacturers and supply and distribution chains to successfully import methamphetamine into New Zealand,” says a police report titled “Methamphetamine in New Zealand: This that we currently know of the damage it causes”, which was broadcast. Last year.
“The super-facilitator is usually based overseas and is never in direct contact with the cargo.”
There is evidence that others like Ngakuru settled in the Pacific, Mexico and South America. In 2014, kickboxer Peter Leaitua was arrested in Colombia for drug trafficking, while other links arise whenever a large shipment is dismantled.
“We have them all over the world. And they’re not here for a vacation,” New Zealand Customs Investigations Director Bruce Berry said during a Herald investigation on Sunday into how the methamphetamine was arriving. in New Zealand from the Golden Triangle region.