The Star: June 29, 2023

The Star Thursday June 29 2023
10
COURT
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Mongols South Island president jailed
• By Belinda Feek
JASON ROSS was following
in his father’s footsteps when
he joined the Mongols gang,
becoming president of the
Burnham-based South Island
chapter.
But it wasn’t the family
connection that drove his
offending. It was the money.
The 47-year-old – dubbed
“666” in the gang – dealt in
kilograms of Class A and B
drugs, with a shoebox exchange
of cash with $150,000 inside.
Ross was sentenced on
Monday to 12 years in jail as
a result of Operation Silk – a
police operation targeting the
establishment of the Mongols
gang in the Bay of Plenty in 2019
and the subsequent distribution
of methamphetamine and other
drugs throughout the country.
Ross was found guilty of four
charges – three of possession of
methamphetamine for supply,
one which was representative,
and possession of the class B
drug, 25I-NBome, for supply.
The charges relate to various
trips by the Crown’s protected
witness, during 2019 and 2020,
between Auckland, Te Puke,
and Christchurch in which he
exchanged between 1kg and 2kg
of methamphetamine for cash.
In one instance, Ross handed
the witness $150,000 cash
CONVICTED: Mongols South
Island president Jason Ross
has been jailed for 12 years.
Right – the Mongols MC gang’s South Island headquarters on Main South Rd, Burnham.
PHOTOS: BELINDA FEEK, GEORGE HEARD / NZ HERALD
bundled into a shoebox.
Crown prosecutor Anna
Pollett said in hindsight, Ross
should also have been charged
with participating in an
organised criminal group, but
either way, his involvement in
the gang was “significant”.
Ross was instrumental in
the supply and distribution
of between 5kg and 6kg of
drugs down to, and around,
the South Island as well as the
establishment of the gang pad in
Burnham.
“That was one of the aims of
this newly established gang,”
Pollett said.
“It was a high-risk operation
and nothing less than kilograms
would suffice.”
She pushed for a minimum
non-parole period of two-thirds
and a starting point of 14 years.
Defending counsel Thomas
Haare instead asked for a nineto
11-year starting point, plus a
further 12 months for the class B
drug offending.
He urged Justice Melanie
Harland not to hand down
a minimum period of
imprisonment and asked for
discounts for his client’s prospect
of rehabilitation, previous clean
criminal history, upbringing,
and the clear trajectory into
gangs, given his father had also
been a Mongols gang member.
Haare also asked for a discount
taking into account the effect of
the prison term on Ross’ family,
including his parents, both of
whom were sick, and his partner
and child.
As well as having an
operational function of receiving
and on-selling the drugs, Ross
was the South Island president
and had influence over others.
He also dealt in commercial
quantities of cash, which Justice
Harland said was the motivating
factor behind the offending,
given he was not a user of drugs
or alcohol.
“There’s no evidence that
anything but financial profit
drove your offending.
“You dealt with large amounts
. . . and distributed it in the
South Island.
“You were not simply a
prospect (of the gang) . . . but the
president.”
Justice Harland also outlined
the defendant’s upbringing; born
to a mother aged only 16, and his
parents separating two years later,
which saw him live in Rotorua
with extended family for three
years from age 5, before moving to
Australia at 8-years-old.
He returned to New Zealand
aged 24 and set up a painting
business in Auckland before
moving to Canterbury a few
years later.
Now, she said, he was a hard
worker, dedicated father, partner,
and son.
She agreed with the Crown’s
assessment of the 14-year
starting point but agreed to a 10
per cent discount for cultural
factors and the effect on his
family, plus a further six months
for time on restricted bail,
resulting in a 12-year end jail
term.
She declined to hand
down a minimum term of
imprisonment.
This report was produced
by Open Justice – Te Pātītī,
a Public Interest Journalism
initiative funded by NZ on Air
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