Edward Gay13:01, May 06 2021
David White/Stuff
Aleksandr Cherushev, left, Ryszard Wilk, middle, and Patryk Lukasz Lukasik, right, with translators in the dock at the High Court in Auckland (composite image).
A man accused of importing cocaine was actually involved in importing bananas, his lawyer says.
Aleksandr Cherushev, Patryk Lukasz Lukasik and Ryszard Wilk are on trial in the High Court in Auckland, where they have denied charges including importing and supplying cocaine, conspiracy to supply and money laundering.
Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey alleged Cherushev, a Russian sailor, brought 4kg of cocaine to New Zealand while working on the international container ship Discovery Bay in 2016.
But Chushev’s lawyer Ron Mansfield described the Crown’s case as “theory and innuendo”. He said his client was not involved and has always maintained his innocence. He said Cherushev had been arrested on “scant evidence”. In his closing address to the jurors, Mansfield said his client had been in custody, away from his wife and child back home in Russia, since being arrested two years ago. Mansfield said his client returned to New Zealand while working onboard another commercial ship in 2019, two years after allegedly delivering cocaine. When police officers and Customs staff boarded the boat, Cherushev waived his right to silence and agreed to speak to them.
Bastion Pt drug trial: Cocaine frenzy left alleged boss Richie Wilk and mates awash with cash, Crown claims
4 May, 2021 04:04 AM
3 minutes to read
Ryszard Wilk, brought back to New Zealand in 2019 to face charges, has pleaded not guilty. Photo / Interpol
Ryszard Wilk, brought back to New Zealand in 2019 to face charges, has pleaded not guilty. Photo / Interpol
If you follow the money - bundles of it generated with no legitimate explanation - you can know only one product was behind it.
That s what prosecutor Brian Dickey told jurors in his closing address at the Bastion Pt cocaine trial today.
Russian sailor Aleksandr Cherushev and Polish men Ryszard Richie Wilk and Patryk Lukasz Lukasik have pleaded not guilty to importing cocaine.
Edward Gay17:26, May 04 2021
David White/Stuff
Aleksandr Cherushev (left), Ryszard Wilk (middle) and Patryk Lukasz Lukasik (right) are on trial at the High Court in Auckland charged with importing cocaine into New Zealand. (Composite image)
The only way to explain the large amounts of cash floating around a group of men visiting New Zealand is the importation of kilograms of cocaine, says the Crown. Initially Wilk also faced charges of importing MDMA ecstasy but that charge has been dropped. The Crown says Cherushev was working as a sailor onboard the ship Discovery Bay that docked in Auckland and Tauranga in September 2016.
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