Auckland drug kingpin Louis Hall’s MPI has been overturned following a Court of Appeal challenge to his conviction

At the April sentencing, Judge Kirsten Lummis wondered aloud: “Does the New Zealand public think this is a high enough figure?” before deciding, the answer was no.

But in its recent decision, the Court of Appeal noted that the sentence was in fact “lengthy” and found that the minimum term of imprisonment (MPI) was unnecessary and that the order should not have been imposed.

With MPI now repealed, Hall will be eligible for parole after serving a third of his sentence. If MPI had stayed, he would have waited another 14 months.

Hall, also known by the nicknames “LJ” or “BopBop”, played a leading role in an organized drug syndicate that owned, offered to supply and supplied commercial quantities of methamphetamine, MDMA, in both powder and crystalline form, “Pink Porsche”. MDMA tablets and cannabis.

He directed and controlled 14 other defendants in the operation, which involved drug trafficking throughout the country.

Hall and his hand-picked employees gathered in luxury Airbnbs in wealthy areas, using the premises to store drugs and facilitate drug deals. At the peak of his career, Hall grew so quickly that he was able to spend $930,000 at the SkyCity Casino.

But everything came crashing down for him when police launched an operation called Operation Escondido in 2020 and 2021, targeting the drug syndicate and leading to a number of arrests.

Following Hall’s arrest, he was released on electronically monitored bail in November 2020. In May 2021, police conducted a further search of his bail address and found drugs, cash and electronic devices indicative of ongoing drug dealing.

He pleaded guilty to 10 charges, including the typical charge of offering to distribute methamphetamine, which is punishable by up to life in prison.

At sentencing, Judge Lummis said there could be “no doubt” that Hall’s role was leading.

She noted his strong ties to various gangs, such as the King Cobras, Comancheros and Headhunters, although she noted that he was not a gang member, nor were his group members.

The judge accepted a starting point of 15 years in prison for the methamphetamine offense and applied a three-year extension on the remaining charges before giving 10% credit to Hall’s guilty plea, which was made three days before trial.

On appeal, defense attorney Ron Mansfield, R-Ky., argued that the starting point for the methamphetamine offense was excessive, the surcharge was excessive, the guilty plea discount was insufficient and MPI was not required.

He said methamphetamine dealing was not Hall’s modus operandi and was “secondary” to other transactions.

The Court of Appeal ruled that the starting point of 15 years for methamphetamine offenses was “somewhat too high”.

“However, as we see, during the round this did not lead to a final verdict, which would have been clearly excessive.

“In our view, the increase over the three years has been negligible given the significant quantity of drugs supplied, the commercialization of drugs and the use of Airbnb premises for packaging, storage and sale, as well as the illegal possession of firearms.

“The offenses taken together would justify an increase of four to five years from the starting point of 13 to 14 years for the underlying offence, taking the totality into account.”

The Court of Appeal found the guilty plea to be reasonable, but in reviewing MPI said that while the quantity of drugs involved, the commercial nature of the enterprise and Hall’s role pointed to MPI, there were relevant personal factors.

“Mr Hall is a relatively young man (29 years old at the time of sentencing). Prior to this offence, he had a relatively limited criminal history, the most serious offense being non-aggravated robbery, for which he was sentenced to seven months in prison in 2014.”

The decision states that Hall also has mental health issues and trauma, as well as addiction to methamphetamine and possible gambling.

“We believe that the lengthy sentence imposed on Mr. Hall, coupled with the statutory minimum term of four years and three months imprisonment, is sufficient to hold him accountable for the harm caused to the community by his offending. It condemns the behavior in which he has been involved and is a very important deterrent to drug crimes.

“In terms of protecting the public, the information presented to the judge indicates that Mr. Hall has taken some steps to rehabilitate himself, including completing a community service course on alcohol and drugs.

“We conclude that the introduction of a 40% MPI was not necessary…”

Tara Shasky joined NZME in 2022 as news director and reporter for Open Justice. She has been a reporter since 2014 and previously worked for Stuff magazine, covering crime and justice, arts and entertainment and Māori issues.