Senior Comanchero jailed for nine years over wholesale meth ring

Wednesday, 22 July 2026

Dwight Percivil Fatu, Sergeant at Arms for the Waikato Comanchero chapter, was jailed for nine years and five months in the High Court at Hamilton.

Fatu supplied at least one kilogram of methamphetamine using an encrypted ANØM device and took delivery of 20 litres of precursor chemicals intended for meth manufacturing, the court said.

Court findings noted Fatu urged gang members to push drug distribution outside the Waikato region to command higher prices.

A senior gang member who supplied at least a kilogram of methamphetamine using an encrypted device has been jailed for nine years and five months.

Dwight Percivil Fatu was sentenced in the High Court at Hamilton on July 16 by Justice Downs.

Fatu served as Sergeant at Arms for the Waikato chapter of the Comanchero gang, holding a central role in syndicate operations and remaining 'plainly aligned with the syndicate's drug dealing activities', the court said.

His offending was uncovered during Operation Equinox, a police and customs investigation that ran from 2019 until his arrest in June 2021.

Between March 28 and August 1, 2020, Fatu used an encrypted ANØM device to facilitate drug sales. He sourced methamphetamine from the chapter head and sold it to his own customers, directly supplying at least one kilogram, the court said.

The court noted his 'trade craft' was careful to avoid surveillance, saying Fatu collected large sums of money for the syndicate and urged members to focus distribution outside the Waikato area to obtain higher prices.

On May 11, 2021, Fatu also took delivery of 20 litres of hypophosphorous acid from syndicate members, intending it to be used for manufacturing methamphetamine.

Justice Downs noted Fatu experienced a difficult upbringing exposed to gangs, alcohol, and drugs, and was imprisoned for manslaughter at age 18, where he joined a gang. He accumulated previous drug convictions in 2004 and 2013.

'It is, therefore, not an exaggeration to say much of your adult life has been spent in prison for commercial drug dealing,' Justice Downs said, describing Fatu as 'a recidivist commercial drug dealer'.

While Fatu claimed to have severed gang ties, Justice Downs said he had seen no hard evidence to support the assertion.

An 11-year starting point was set for the primary drug supply charge, uplifted by one year for the remaining offending and one year for Fatu's criminal record. Discounts of 15% for personal background and drug use and 15% for guilty pleas were applied.

Justice Downs sentenced Fatu to concurrent terms of nine years and five months for supplying methamphetamine, three years for possessing a precursor substance, and five years for participating in an organised criminal group. A minimum period of imprisonment was declined.

Suppression orders remain in force regarding the alleged involvement of the chapter head.