Man charged after 21-year-old dies while drinking meth-laced beer
A man has been charged with manslaughter after a 21-year-old died while drinking meth-laced beer.
Aidan Sagala died at Auckland City Hospital on March 7 after his body gave out due to methamphetamine in his beer.
A 40-year-old man, who has not yet been publicly identified, has appeared in Auckland District Court on a single charge of involuntary manslaughter. NZ Herald reports.
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The man is also charged as part of Operation Lavender, a large-scale police drug investigation launched after Sagala’s death.
The man pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charge.
He was issued a restraining order and remanded in custody on bail pending his next appearance before the Auckland High Court on June 14.
Court documents showed the man was accused of importing cans of beer containing methamphetamine under his control and failing to take reasonable care to ensure the cans did not endanger human life, thereby committing manslaughter.
An innocent beer after work
Sagala’s family said he started shaking and acting obsessively before saying after drinking the beer, “I feel like I’m dying.” witness reports.
He was reportedly gifted a 24-pack of imported Honey Beer House Beer, which New Zealand police say he “innocently sat down” to drink after work.
His family said Sagala – who didn’t drink alcohol often – asked if beer usually tasted “salty”.
“My partner took a sip of it and spat it out,” Sagala’s sister Angela said.
Then Sagala collapsed on the floor.
Angela said she saw her brother having a seizure and described him as “obsessed”.
“He was on the ground trying to play with his nose, and then he turned to me and said, ‘Sister, I’m dying,'” she said.
Angela, a doctor, began resuscitating her brother when his lips turned blue.
Sagala died five days later at Auckland City Hospital.
A positive meth test was found in his urine.
Sagala’s death sparked Operation Lavender, an investigation into a suspected methamphetamine import operation in New Zealand.
City of Auckland CIB Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said further pathology and toxicology testing had been completed, reports NZ Herald.
Baldwin says the investigation into the import is ongoing and officials can’t rule out further charges.
“Sagala’s tragic death sparked Operation Lavender, which has already resulted in numerous serious drug offenses and seized a large quantity of methamphetamine and other drugs from an address in Manukau,” he said.
“The Operation Lavender team uncovered a major drug import where drugs in liquid form were allegedly being imported hidden in beer cans.”
Police estimated the value of the drug seizure at hundreds of millions of dollars.
