19 Jun 2018

Man jailed over illegal $12k paua trade haul

3:55 pm on 19 June 2018

A Kaitaia man has been jailed for a year after illegally gathering $12,000 worth of paua and selling them in Northland and Auckland.

Beached empty paua shell.

Beached empty paua shell. Photo: 123rf

Rini Wikitera, 42, who has previous convictions for paua poaching, was handed his sentence in the Auckland District Court.

Ministry for Primary Industries said the sentence sent a clear message that taking and selling paua on the black market was a serious offence.