It was Himatjit Singh Kahlon’s generous and helping nature that saw him fooled into unknowingly helping a trusted friend with the methamphetamine operation behind the meth-laced beer can which killed an innocent man, a court has heard.

Aiden Sagala, 21, died in Auckland City Hospital in March 2023 after sipping from a can containing liquid meth, which he believed was beer given to him by Kahlon, who was his boss at Fonterra.

Kahlon, 41, was subsequently charged with manslaughter and possession of meth and cocaine for supply.

He denies the charges and is on trial before Justice Kiri Tahana at the Auckland High Court.

Himatjit Singh Kahlon is facing trial at the Auckland High Court, regarding the death of Aiden Sagala in 2023, after he drank beer laced with meth.DAVID WHITE / STUFF

Defence lawyer Emma Priest said in her closing remarks on Thursday that there was a power imbalance between Kahlon and his friend, who previously pleaded guilty to importing a large quantity of meth and ephedrine, hidden in beer cans, coconut water and kombucha bottles.

The friend, who has name suppression, was not charged in relation to Sagala’s death.

Priest said the friend “had the ability and the confidence to fool others,” including Kahlon, who looked up to him as a successful businessman with the fancy house and cars to prove it.

Kahlon never suspected that his wealth may have been the result of illegal drug activities.

“He was capable of pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes.”

Aiden Sagala’s family were baffled to learn he died from a meth overdose, knowing that he wasn’t a drug user.supplied

The Crown argued that it should have been obvious to Kahlon that the white crystals throughout the Manukau storage warehouse, which his friend had rented to store the Honey Bear beers, were meth. But Priest said it came down to “world experience”.

“To someone who doesn’t know what meth or class A drugs look like, the warehouse just looked like a storage warehouse.

“If you think that it’s a legitimate business when you enter, you might not question what you see.”

It is estimated the 700kg of meth found in the warehouse had a value of more than $80m.

The Manukau warehouse where police found more than 24 thousand cars of Honey Bear beer and 700kg of meth.NZ Police

Priest described Kahlon as a “possum in the headlights” when he admitted in his police interview that he had been involved in weighing and bagging up the white crystals.

“Why would Mr Kahlon offer this to the police officer unprompted if he was trying to hide something?”

Priest said Kahlon, like everyone else, was in the dark about how Sagala came into contact with meth on March 2.

When Sagala was absent from work the next day, there was discussion among his workmates on whether he was “pulling a sickie” because he had drunk too much beer.

Defence laywer Emma Priest said Kahlon trusted his friend, who took advantage of him.RICKY WILSON / Stuff

The court previously heard that on March 3, Kahlon began attempting to retrieve the beers he had given to his colleagues, which Priest argued was because he feared disciplinary action for distributing alcohol at work.

By the time he visited Sagala’s brother-in-law to try and retrieve the remaining beers, Priest said Kahlon had spoken to his friend and realised he had been roped into a drug operation and that it was the beer he gave Sagala that made him ill.

“It’s at this time he realises there’s something dangerous in the cans.”

Priest rejected that Kahlon was trying to cover his tracks by getting the beers out of the Sagala household. Instead, he was concerned others would drink them and desperate to avoid having others follow in Sagala’s path.

A police video showed meth in various stages of processing throughout the storage unit.NZ Police

The jury is expected to begin deliberating its verdict on Friday.

On Wednesday, Crown prosecutor Robin McCoubrey gave his closing remarks, telling the jury the case was about a “tragic waste of a young life”.

Kahlon’s actions after finding out Sagala had fallen ill proved he knew the Honey Bear beer cans contained dangerous drugs and that Sagala had drank from one.

“He’s telling people not to drink the beer, the very day after Aiden drank the beer, and became extremely unwell, and exceedingly quickly.”

While police, doctors and Sagala’s family wondered how he got the meth that made him so unwell, Kahlon’s only concern was to get the remaining Honey Bear beers out of Sagala’s fridge.

“He wanted to get rid of any possible connection between him and the beers in the Sagala household,” McCoubrey said.

“He knew one of the meth beers got out and that’s why Aiden was lying in a coma in hospital.”

Crown prosecutor Robin McCoubrey said Kahlon knew what had happened to Sagala, while his family were left wondering how he had become so ill.LAWRENCE SMITH / Stuff

McCoubrey said Kahlon’s interview with police detective sergeant Matthew Bunce before his arrest “was one lie after another”.

Kahlon initially failed to tell police about the warehouse containing more than 700kg of meth, but by the end of the interview, admitted helping his friend bag up the white crystals.

Still, Kahlon denied knowing that the crystals were meth, McCoubrey said.

McCoubrey clarified that the Crown was not suggesting Kahlon knew there was meth in the beer cans he gave Sagala. The problem was that Kahlon had given away cans of beer that could contain meth, without checking.

“This was plainly not an intentional killing.

“He didnt mean for Aiden to die, but it’s his fault in law that he did die, because he was criminally negligent in his actions.”

Sagala died from multi organ failiure, the result of a significant meth overdose, five days after he drank from beer can given to him by Kahlon.

The court previously heard that more than 24 thousand cans of the Honey Bear beer were found at the Manukau warehouse, with just 126 found to contain liquid meth.

The cans containing meth could be distinguished due to them being soft, whereas the cans containing carbonated beer were firm.

Sagala’s family, who have been present in court during the trial, previously described him as “a man of God” and “the most loving, gentle giant”.