Two men accused of smuggling meth-laced beer into New Zealand, allegedly resulting in a person’s death, are now facing additional charges.

Police have identified 328 kilograms of methamphetamine seized from a raid at a warehouse in Manukau where a shipment of kombucha bottles was found alongside pallets of Honey Bear House Beer.

A man aged in his 30s, who cannot be named for legal reasons, now faces three new methamphetamine importation charges and one new charge of possession of cocaine for supply. All of the charges carry a maximum possible punishment of life imprisonment.

His 40-year-old co-defendant is jointly charged with cocaine supply.

In a brief but emotional court hearing, the driver of a truck that hit Kiwi child star Lionel “Doeboy” Allan has admitted causing his death.

Allan’s boss Wiremu Gray struck the 39-year-old former actor as he was walking on a West Auckland road in September 2022, killing him on the spot.

Gray, 42, pleaded guilty to careless driving causing death in the Waitākere District Court on Wednesday, meaning the case will not go to trial.

A young woman cannot remember giving birth to a baby in a hospital bathroom before disposing of his body in a sanitary bin, a court has heard.

The woman, who cannot be identified, previously admitted concealing the dead body of a child.

The conception of the child is likely to have been a traumatic event which led to the woman not being able to remember, the court heard.

On Monday, she was granted permanent name suppression and was convicted and discharged at the Auckland District Court by Judge Stephen Bonnar.

Some prisoners at New Zealand’s only maximum security prison are being left locked in their cells for up to three days at a time – breaching human rights.

Lawyers, the Human Rights Commission and Amnesty International are concerned for the welfare of inmates at Auckland prison and are urging Corrections to address the issue.

A teenager who raped and sexually assaulted fellow high school students at parties will ask the Supreme Court to hear his case, as he tries to keep his name secret.

The 19-year-old’s name suppression was due to be revoked on Friday at 2pm.

However, his lawyer, Emma Priest, has signalled she will be asking the highest court in the land to consider hearing the case.

A gang member who kidnapped a man, beat him and forced him to choose between getting shot in the leg or hands over drug money will be released from prison early.

Tremayne Jordan Salt, 26, was a member of the street gang DMS - Dope Money Sex when he and his brother took a man - whose father owed the gang drug money - hostage and beat him while his father listened over the phone.

Salt was charged with kidnapping and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in June 2017 and sentenced to eight years and two months imprisonment.

But in a recently released decision from the Court of Appeal, Salt has successfully reduced his prison sentence to six years.

Reading the news articles on the very sad Rose Cottage Superette killing has been very confronting. It must be unimaginable for the family of Janak Patel.

But I am also dismayed at speculation that the killing was caused by a failure of the criminal justice system. The idea is that somehow “getting tough on crime” would solve this.

I appreciate it’s an election year coming up but I must push back on the suggestion that a sentence of life imprisonment is a soft approach. I also note that the search for the offenders lasted about three days. Criminal justice and policing in New Zealand work, but they are neither a cause nor a solution. Only people who don’t commit crimes consider penalties to be a deterrent.

Elite Women 2022

Celebrating Aotearoa New Zealand’s top female legal talent

The New Zealand Law Society estimated that 71.8% of new law graduates would be female in 2021 – a huge transformation from the 26.3% recorded back in 1980.

Women are increasingly making a presence on the lists of powerful and influential lawyers.

A teen who raped and sexually violated multiple teenage girls wants his name permanently kept secret partly over fears of “vigilante justice”, a new court document reveals.

The man’s Court of Appeal application requesting leave to appeal the decision not to grant him permanent name suppression alleges a judge failed to place sufficient weight on “vigilante attacks” against him and was wrong in finding he would not likely suffer extreme hardship as a result.

“Being subjected to violence cannot be said to be an ordinary consequence of publication.

A man has been jailed after admitting his involvement in a shooting that left a man deaf.

Heston Salt​, who was not the shooter, took part in a home invasion in Auckland’s Mt Roskill that left three people seriously injured.

He was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison by Justice Geoffrey Venning at the High Court at Auckland on Thursday after admitting three charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.