Senior Comanchero gang leader Tyson Daniels pleads guilty to conspiracy to possess 200kg of methamphetamine smuggled through Port of Tauranga

Daniels, 37, was originally charged with importing the 200kg shipment, which carries a maximum penalty of a life imprisonment.

Instead, he admitted the lesser offence of conspiracy to possess the drugs for supply, after a plea bargain deal agreed between the Crown and his lawyer James Olsen.

That offence carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison and Daniels will be sentenced next month.

Daniels pleaded guilty during a brief appearance in the Tauranga District Court in February.

But all details of the high-ranking Comanchero’s involvement in the brazen heist were suppressed until now because of other serious drug charges, which have recently been dropped.

Since his arrest in April 2024, Daniels has been held inside the Prisoners of Extreme Risk Unit (PERU) at the maximum security prison at Paremoremo, alongside other influential organised crime figures and violent inmates.

One of the founding members of the New Zealand chapter of the Comancheros, Daniels has already spent time in prison for money laundering.

In February 2020, he was jailed for buying a fleet of luxury cars worth $2.6 million, including late-model Range Rovers, a Bentley and a Rolls-Royce.

“You clearly knew that the money was derived from significant drug importation and supply operation by the group of which you are a member,” Justice Gerard van Bohemen said.

“Your place in the Comancheros hierarchy means you were one of the directors of this serious offending, which exemplifies how organised crime groups can obtain significant financial benefit from offending without putting themselves at risk.”

Daniels was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison, later extended by three months for punching another inmate.

After that assault, Daniels was a model prisoner and claimed to be a “changed man”.

He was released from prison to live in Tauranga in August 2022 after the Parole Board decided he was no longer an “undue risk” to the public.

“Mr Daniels spoke about his high-risk situations, how he will stay away from old associates and a pro-social future he plans,” the Parole Board.

“He accepted that he lived a high lifestyle, but he said he has now learned that reconnection with his culture and family is more important.”

However, less than a year later, Daniels was recalled to prison for associating with fellow Comancheros in a breach of his release conditions.

When his sentence officially ended in May 2024, the vice-president of the Comancheros moved back to Auckland and soon resumed his place at the top echelon of organised crime.

By the end of the year, Daniels was involved in a plot to buy 200kg of methamphetamine smuggled through the Port of Tauranga.

The two men who allegedly broke into the shipping container to retrieve the five suitcases of meth have been charged with entering the Port of Tauranga without authority, possession of instruments for burglary, refusing to give police the passcodes to their phones and possession of a Class-A drug for supply.

The pair have yet to stand trial.

A week later, Anzac and George Pouwhare were arrested for their involvement in the drug shipment after an investigation called Operation Bridle.

Then, four months later, Daniels was arrested.

According to a summary of the police case, the drug importation was arranged by Anzac Pouwhare using aliases and destined for a gym in Te Puke, east of Tauranga.

The 200kg shipment was to be supplied to Daniels for $250,000.

However, the shipping container was inspected and x-rayed by Customs staff at the Port of Tauranga.

The suitcases had not been declared as the imported goods, which raised a red flag for Customs to investigate before the container could be released.

George Pouwhare worked for a company at the Port of Tauranga. From his position as an “insider”, he was able to act as a lookout and give updates on the container’s location to his brother Anzac.

In turn, Anzac Pouwhare was communicating with Daniels about the status of the shipping container.

In his communications with Anzac Pouwhare, Daniels indicated that other associates were waiting for them - and the drugs - at the McDonald’s restaurant in Te Puke.

Anzac and George Pouwhare were previously deported from Australia and have already served time in New Zealand prisons for firearms and violence offences.

Anzac Pouwhare pleaded guilty to importing methamphetamine and burglary for drugs.

The 38-year-old was this month sentenced to 19 years and four months in prison.

George Pouwhare, 34, pleaded guilty to being a party to burglary for drugs, and failing to give the pincode to his phone.

He was this week sentenced to home detention for eight months.

But Daniels’ admission of guilt was the biggest win for the police National Organised Crime Group.

In recent years, the specialist division has relentlessly targeted the Comancheros in a series of covert investigations into drug importing and distribution across the country, as well as money laundering and firearms violence.

An Australian motorcycle club, the Comancheros established a chapter in New Zealand in 2018 after a small, but influential, group of senior members were deported as “501s” by Australian authorities.

Law enforcement agencies were concerned about the gang’s connections to international organised crime groups, and their predictions soon came true.

Their arrival led to a radical shift within the criminal underworld, with far larger importations of methamphetamine and cocaine, as well as violent conflict between gangs, including tit-for-tat shootings and arson.

Jared Savage covers crime and justice issues, with a particular interest in organised crime. He joined the Herald in 2006 and has won a dozen journalism awards in that time, including twice being named Reporter of the Year. He is also the author of Gangland, Gangster’s Paradise and Underworld.