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A jailed gang member managed to import $15m worth of drugs into New Zealand from all over the world using cellphones that were smuggled into prison.

The drugs were hidden in various items, including meth-soaked book pages, hockey balls, the inside of car seats, a washing machine drum and truck mirrors, and were destined for various parts of the country.

Patched Bloods member Elijah Daveron - who also has close associations with the Mongrel Mob, Hunters and the Nomads - was already behind bars for drug offending when he used a number of illicit phones to facilitate the importation of 50kg of drugs.

Today, Daveron admitted five representative charges of importing 50kg of class A and B drugs including 35kg of methamphetamine, 684g of cocaine, 5.3kg of pseudoephedrine, 6kg of ephedrine and 2.46kg of MDMA or ecstasy.

According to the summary of facts, Daveron came to the attention of authorities in August 2021, when he arranged for the importation of five hose and joint kits containing 15 concealed packages containing .196kg of methamphetamine.

On his phone, Daveron recorded the opening, separating, and weighing of the drugs, which also contained the name of a contact known as “alchaapo”.

Over two days in November 2021, the pair exchanged 241 messages and video calls to supply 3 ounces of methamphetamine, valued at $15,000, to an associate of “alchaapo”.

Two days later the pair again exchanged 144 texts and video calls, again arranging for the supply of 3 ounces of methamphetamine, also worth $15,000, to an associate of “alchaapo”.

When police searched Daveron’s house in November 2021 they found methamphetamine, cash and phone records showing that Daverson was actively supplying methamphetamine.

In November 2021, Daveron was jailed at Rimutaka Prison, but it didn’t stop him from offending.

About the same time police and customs launched Operation Hollow to investigate Daveron and his associates.

From behind bars, Daveron ordered the drugs from an overseas associate identified as “Blakman”.

He directed where the drugs would be delivered to and, once he knew they were on their way, Daveron told his associates outside of prison to uplift and distribute them.

Labelled as truck and bus mirrors from Namibia, car head lamps from the United Kingdom, watches from Malaysia, a washing machine drum from Tanzania, ashtray boxes and car seats from India, wooden dishes from Afghanistan, hockey kits from Pakistan and even books infused with methamphetamine, a total of 35kg of methamphetamine was imported, valued at $13.2m.

The packages were destined for addresses in Wellington, Auckland, Whakatāne and Wairarapa.

Cocaine, pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and MDMA

In July and September 2022 Customs intercepted two packages containing 684g of cocaine valued at $239,000, hidden in the lining of cardboard boxes.

The packages, which were labelled as clothing and originated in Belgium or Colombia, were destined for Hastings and Whakatāne respectively.

On three occasions in August and again in December 2022, customs intercepted packages containing a total of 7.3kgs of pseudoephedrine valued at about $703,000.

Three of the packages were labelled as boys’ clothing but actually contained clothing, shoes, handbags and bangles. A fourth was labelled bangles and dresses.

Again, the packages were hidden inside the lining of cardboard boxes or within packaging. All originated in India and were destined for addresses in Whakatāne, Auckland and Wellington.

In August and October 2022, customs officials seized four packages labelled as bags, coffee and electrical parts totalling 4.92kg of ephedrine valued at $561,000. The drug was hidden inside a cardboard box, inside plastic measurement metres or within bags. They were destined for addresses in Hastings and Wellington.

In October 2022, customs intercepted a package containing 136 pills, which originated in Paris. These were found to contain the class B controlled drug MDMA, or ecstasy.

Two years later, in July 2024, customs intercepted another package containing 1.9kg MDMA, labelled as bed sheets, polo shirts and caps that originated in the Netherlands and was destined for a Wellington address. They were also found hidden inside the lining of a cardboard box.

In total, 1.95kg of MDMA was seized with a value of $580,000.

According to the summary, many of the transactions involved communication with “Blakman”.

The names, packages, consignment numbers and other details were found on Daveron’s phones, which were seized by prison guards three times in 2022 and again in May 2024.

In May, the phone was found to contain images of packing and tracking details, images of redirection requests and payment, videos of the content of the opened packages, including a hockey helmet, pads and a box of hockey balls.

There was also video of the methamphetamine being extracted from the hockey balls, conversations about the methamphetamine being contaminated and videos of the methamphetamine being cleaned.

Daveron was due to stand trial today in the High Court at Wellington. Instead, he started the day with guilty pleas.

His lawyer, Paul Surridge, sought a pre-sentence report and an alcohol and drug report.

Justice David Boldt convicted Daveron and remanded him in custody until his sentencing in August.

Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist for 20 years, including at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.