The New Zealand Parole Board has confirmed that Fijian national Aiyaz Mohammed Musa Umarji appeared before it on Wednesday of last week. Mr. Umarji was sentenced to four years in prison by the New Zealand High Court in August 2023 for importing pseudoephedrine tablets, a precursor for methamphetamine, into the country.
Court documents indicate that Umarji and an associate coordinated the shipment of 3,600 packets of the medication from Turkey to Fiji via New Zealand, resulting in a total of 108,000 pills entering New Zealand. At the time of the offense, he was the owner of Hypercam Pharmacy in Lautoka and was present in Fiji.
Umarji entered a plea deal that led him to leave Fiji to receive his four-year sentence in August 2023. In December 2023, he appealed his sentence, and the judge reduced it to three years and six months, taking into account his decision to return to New Zealand to face justice.
Justice Laura O’Gorman overturned the original four-year sentence and imposed the new term. Geordie Cassin, the communications manager for the New Zealand Parole Board, confirmed that Umarji had his hearing but did not disclose the outcome. A decision from the Parole Board is expected to be made public within ten days.