‘ASTOUNDING QUANTITIES’

• Published date: 16 April 2024
• Publication title: Whanganui Chronicle

The charismatic entrepreneur had 14 hand-picked employees who regularly sought his guidance and advice as they gathered at luxury Airbnbs throughout New Zealand. He profited off his ability to move among and make connections with diverse groups and, at his peak, the profits were pouring in so rapidly he was able to squander nearly $1 million at SkyCity Casino

But it wasn’t until his appearance in the Auckland District Court last week that his business savvy — and his many mistakes, including his decision to apply his talents to the drug trade — were made public for the first time.

Authorities say Hall, now 29, peddled unknown commercial quantities of ecstasy, cannabis, methamphetamine and cocaine and, in some instances, schemed to import the drugs or raw ingredients into New Zealand for their manufacture.

He pleaded guilty to 10 charges, including a representative charge of offering to supply meth punishable by up to life imprisonment, and last Monday received a sentence of 12-and-a-half years in prison.

“You are not a bad person,” Judge Kirsten Lummis told him, before adding with a brief, quiet chuckle that was mirrored by the defendant in the dock and his family in the courtroom gallery: “You have just made some bad choices — lots of them.”

Among Hall’s mistakes outlined in a detailed 19-page agreed summary of facts was sloppiness with his phones. One device was left behind after a brief Airbnb stay in June 2020, giving investigators a tantalising glimpse of his recent business dealings after gaining access to his encrypted messaging apps on the phone, which had a six-day auto-delete function engaged.

It led to a more sweeping surveillance device warrant a few weeks later, allowing investigators to begin monitoring his phone calls.

When his home was searched at the conclusion of the investigation four months later, police examined another of Hall’s phones, finding unlocked screenshots of what would have been otherwise encrypted or deleted messages.

“Photographs on Mr Hall’s phone showed astounding quantities of controlled drugs packaged for supply and substantial quantities of cash,” the agreed summary of facts states.

Hall, who used his ownership of a construction business as cover for his flashy clothes and extravagant spending, wasn’t initially on authorities’ radar. When the Police National Organised Crime Group launched Operation Cincinnati in 2020, their initial focus was another young drug trafficking boss: Seiana Fakaosilea, then aged just 20...