Matua Kahurangi
Matua Kahurangi, unapologetically provocative, is infamous for his incendiary writings that challenge societal taboos and stir relentless debate.
In what seems like a script straight from a shitty gangster film, Daniel Hannett, a clean-cut “businessman” with a taste for supercars, was living a double life as a key player in one of New Zealand’s largest-ever methamphetamine smuggling operations. While most criminals at least pretend to keep a low profile, Hannett roared through Auckland in a Ferrari and parked a Lamborghini in his driveway. Nothing says “definitely not suspicious” like a seven million dollar asset pool and gang ties to the Mongrel Mob.
Hannett’s operation unravelled after police linked him to a 613kg shipment of meth, worth a staggering $100 million at wholesale, that was smuggled into the country under the guise of Chinese green tea. But long before that, Hannett had built an empire on the back of dirty money. He fronted as a freight-forwarding entrepreneur, held directorships in multiple companies, and had the squeaky-clean record to match. Detectives weren’t fooled by the sharp suits and property portfolio. His lavish lifestyle raised questions that eventually led to Operation Weirton, an 18-month-long surveillance mission that exposed his tangled web of crime.
Still, Hannett strutted through life like the rules didn’t apply to him. He hosted meetings with gang leaders in broad daylight, laundered millions through inflated property sales, and stockpiled firearms and designer drugs. The sheer audacity of flaunting his wealth while importing gear into the country is almost impressive, if it weren’t so dangerous and destructive.
Hannett wasn’t a victim of circumstance. He was a willing architect of an operation that preyed on addiction and vulnerability. His connections to violent gangs weren’t incidental. They were the very backbone of the empire he helped run. And while he may have tried to argue in court that he wasn’t a ringleader, just someone ‘useful’ to the operation, that’s hardly a badge of innocence.
When his million-dollar home was raided in March 2022, police towed away his lineup of performance vehicles like trophies ripped from a criminal fantasy. His frozen assets totalled around seven million dollars, including multiple properties and more than a million dollars in cash. All signs pointed to a man who believed he could launder drug money with the same casual ease as someone booking a holiday.
Hannett’s downfall is also a lesson in how not to be a criminal in the modern era. Many of the more organised crime figures have moved well beyond putting assets in their own name. These days, they’re funneling money into real estate and businesses in places like Dubai, where governments don’t ask too many questions about where the cash is coming from. Families are setting up bases there, visiting every couple of months, and in some cases living there permanently. If you’re deep in the drug trade in New Zealand and still have millions in assets under your name or a relative’s, you’re extremely careless. Hannett’s Ferrari was practically a neon sign saying, “Please investigate me.”
“This is a significant seizure of millions of dollars’ worth of property, allegedly gained from the proceeds of crime,” Detective Inspector Lloyd Schmid said at the time. “These criminal syndicates are motivated by financial greed and prey on those who are most vulnerable.”
And that’s the heart of the matter. This wasn’t just some flashy gangster tale. It’s a grim example of how methamphetamine continues to ravage communities while its suppliers live in gated mansions and drive exotic cars. The 613kg bust was, at the time, the largest ever in New Zealand, yet it only scratches the surface of a worsening trend. Meth use in the country doubled in 2024, according to national wastewater testing.
In the end, Hannett now faces life imprisonment. A man who once played the role of a respectable entrepreneur will spend his foreseeable future behind bars. It’s a fall from grace that was as flamboyant as it was inevitable. But the deeper tragedy is the societal rot that allowed someone like him to operate so boldly, so publicly, and for so long.
Let’s hope this case serves not just as a headline but as a wake-up call. Because as long as drug dealers are living like celebrities, and treating countries like New Zealand as their playground, the fight against organised crime is still being lost.
This article was originally published on the author’s Substack.
