Ex-Lotto presenter suspended on full taxpayer-funded-salary for five years after global FBI sting arrest

Friday, 3 July 2026

Russell Harrison travelled to Turkey in 2021 with six bars of gold bullion to deliver to the Comancheros’ “International Commander”.

He was arrested later that year as part of an FBI sting and charged with money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group.

At the time, he’d only just started a job at the Ministry of Justice, and was suspended on full pay.

He enjoyed the benefit of a full taxpayer funded salary, until he pleaded guilty to the money laundering charge a fortnight ago. The other charge was withdrawn.

A former Lotto presenter who delivered six bars of gold bullion to the Comancheros’ “International Commander” in Turkey was suspended on full pay from his government job after he was arrested as part of a global FBI sting targeting organised crime.

Russell Harrison, 56, continued to receive his taxpayer funded Ministry of Justice salary for five years, tallying hundreds of thousands of dollars, until he pleaded guilty to a charge of money laundering a fortnight ago and his employment was terminated.

The Justice Minister says he was “shocked” to learn of the matter, and has asked for a please explain.

Harrison’s link to the FBI investigation, dubbed Operation Trojan Shield, was revealed after an order suppressing his name was lifted at the court hearing when he admitted his offending. A charge of participating in an organised criminal group was withdrawn.

Stuff can reveal Harrison’s arrest in June 2021 came just days after he’d started working at the Ministry of Justice as a kaiārahi - Family Court navigator.

He’d applied for the role to “listen and work with our communities to improve services for the people who need them most and increase support for the most vulnerable,” he wrote on his LinkedIn profile.

The Ministry of Justice has confirmed Harrison was suspended on full pay after his arrest until he pleaded guilty, at which point his employment was terminated.

It would not say how much he was paid over that period, but according to a government document breaking down Ministry of Justice salary ranges in 2023, a kaiārahi was paid an annual salary of between $81,128 and $112,887.

The ministry’s acting chief operating officer Andrea King said Harrison was employed from June 2021 after passing a criminal record check and vetting.

“He was arrested and charged later that month and, once the Ministry became aware, he was immediately suspended from his role, pending the outcome of his court case,” King said.

“From that point on, Mr Harrison was not permitted to work in his role. But because he was in [the eyes of the] law innocent until proven guilty, a decision about whether to terminate his employment needed to wait until the outcome of the charge was clear.

“We are shocked and disappointed at Mr Harrison’s serious criminal offending and his case in no way should reflect on the outstanding work that our kaiārahi do day in day out in the Family Court.”

Stuff contacted Harrison for comment on the phone.

“I have been advised by my lawyer that I have no further comment and I’m going to let it play out,” he said.

He did not respond to questions later sent to him.

Independent survivor advocate Claire Buckley, who works across the country supporting victims, including at the Rotorua Courts, told Stuff it was “outrageous” Harrison received a taxpayer funded salary while suspended for five years after his arrest.

“Because the law says he couldn’t be replaced while suspended it would have put so much pressure on the other kaiārahi in the area. It’s even worse because he was employed for such a short time before being charged … he got a five year free ride.”

Buckley said Harrison should be made to pay his salary back.

“That’s taxpayers money for basically sitting on his arse waiting to see if he was going to be convicted.”

In a statement to Stuff, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said he was “shocked” when the matter was raised with him and has asked for an explanation.

How did the former face of Lotto get involved in a global drug syndicate?

Harrison began singing at a very early age and “developed a passion for music”, court documents previously released to Stuff said.

He left school early but pursued a career in entertainment, performing with bands and working as an entertainer with groups such as The Brown Brothers, The Howard Morrison Trio and The Hit Men.

Harrison presented Lotto for 11 years and worked internationally as an entertainer on cruise ships.

Harrison was arrested in 2021 alongside senior gang members in the global FBI sting.

Operation Trojan Shield involved police swoops across 16 countries with more than 800 suspects arrested in 2021, aided by an encrypted communications platform (AN0M) developed by the FBI.

Here in New Zealand, police and customs were carrying out a joint investigation into large-scale importations of methamphetamine.

Rotorua-born Duax Ngakuru, the self-identified “International Commander” of the Comancheros bikie gang, was based in Turkey, and established the “extremely large-scale” drug ring.

In July 2019, Harrison met a man in an Auckland cemetery where he was handed $420,000 in cash. The cash was the proceeds of drug offending.

Later that same day, Harrison went to New Zealand Gold Merchants and bought six bars of gold bullion using $416,000 of the cash he’d been given.

Ten days later, Harrison travelled to Turkey. Before he’d left the airport, Customs inspected his hand luggage and found the six gold bars.

“Mr Harrison was also in possession of a ‘Power of Attorney’ document which had been produced and notarised in Turkey. The document indicated that Mr Harrison was acting as a courier to transport gold on behalf of Mr Nisanci, Duax Ngakuru’s associate,” court documents released to Stuff said.

After arriving in Turkey, Harrison met with Duax Ngakuru and his Turkish associates - “Mr Nisanci and Ugar Inal”.

Harrison had previously fought to keep his identity a secret all the way up to the Court of Appeal. He had argued there would be immediate and permanent reputational damage if he was named.

The former Lotto presenter claimed he became involved at the request of someone he trusted and maintained it was his naivety and recklessness.

Harrison will be sentenced later this year.