The New Zealand Parole Board has confirmed that Aiyaz Mohammed Musa Umarji appeared before it last Wednesday. Geordie Cassin, the Communications Manager for the board, shared this information with The Fiji Times but did not disclose the outcome of the hearing. A decision is expected to be made public within ten days.
Umarji was sentenced in August 2023 to four years in prison for importing over $NZ5 million worth of pseudoephedrine, a precursor for methamphetamine, into New Zealand. In December 2023, he appealed his sentence, which led the judge to reduce it, providing credit for his return to the country to confront the legal issues. Justice Laura O’Gorman noted that the co-operation was not considered a distinct basis for discounting the original sentence.
Ultimately, the initial four-year term was quashed, and a new sentence of three years and six months was handed down.