Newstalk ZB
A wealthy South Auckland businessman linked to a massive, deadly methamphetamine shipment partially disguised as Canadian “Honey Bear” beer can finally be named in New Zealand, despite his identity having been common knowledge overseas for years. Baltej Singh, 33, has been serving a 22-year sentence since February last year, after pleading guilty to multiple drug trafficking charges, including the importation of more than 700 kilograms of meth disguised as beer, coconut water and kombucha. It was the largest known importation of meth into New Zealand at the time. Singh’s co-defendant, Himatjit Kahlon, is serving a 21-year sentence for manslaughter. A jury found him guilty in 2024 of causing the death of Aiden Sagala, 21, who overdosed in March 2023 when he drank from a “Honey Bear” can that he mistakenly thought contained beer. The reason why Singh’s arrest made headlines overseas is because of his family’s background. His uncle, Satwant Singh, helped in 1984 to assassinate Indira Gandhi, India’s then-prime minister, and was executed for it five years later. Multiple overseas publications, including the Times of India – the world’s highest-circulation English-language daily in the world, with millions of readers – reported Baltej Singh’s name in relation to the drug arrest in 2023. Baltej Singh appears in Auckland District Court via audio-video feed charged with methamphetamine importation after a man died from accidentally drinking meth-laced beer. Crown prosecutor Robin McCoubrey sits in the foreground. Photo / Jason Oxenham While New Zealand judges have the ability to restrict local reports on court cases, suppression is not enforceable in other countries. In the age of the internet, a Google search is likely to undermine any suppression orders if a defendant’s name has already been widely reported overseas. That was among the arguments made by the Herald, Stuff and Crown prosecutors in December 2024, when Baltej Singh made an application for permanent name suppression after his guilty pleas. Justice Kiri Tahana, in the High Court at Auckland, was not persuaded. She barred reporting of his name in New Zealand after taking into consideration affidavits from the defendant’s family describing how they had long suffered threats due to the 1984 killing. A 21-year-old was killed in 2023 after drinking a can labelled as a Canadian beer that actually held methamphetamine in liquid form. Photo / NZ Police The defendant’s father recounted an unsolved drive-by shooting in 2005 in which he suffered a non-fatal gunshot wound to the collarbone. The family believed it to be an act of retribution. The judge was also handed a list of high-profile killings across the globe in recent years in which Sikh activists were targeted. “The history of threats faced by Mr Singh’s father and the international developments which have resulted in the assassination of Sikh activists indicate that these risks are not hollow and indicate a real danger to the safety of Mr Singh’s family,” the judge noted in her decision, which was also suppressed until recently. Because of the restrictions placed on the media, the Herald has until now referred to Baltej Singh only as “a well-known businessman” who had garnered respect from some aspects of society “for an unusual reason”. That respect was part of co-defendant Kahlon’s argument to the jury. Although Baltej Singh is 10 years younger, his stature in the community prompted Kahlon to place “blind trust” in him when he served as an unwitting “lackey” for the drug import operation, his lawyers had argued. During a Court of Appeal hearing in October, the Crown argued that the very high threshold for permanent name suppression had not been met because those who might undertake vigilante activities already knew of Baltej Singh and his family’s connection to the events of 1984. This time, the three-judge panel agreed with the Crown. Justice Tahana “overstated the risk” that New Zealand-based publication of his n...
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