The sister of Aiden Sagala, who died after unknowingly drinking a beer can containing liquid methamphetamine, says a new arrival to the family has helped her heal.
The men convicted of the import of the disguised drinks and her brother’s manslaughter were sentenced today.
Aiden died from multiple organ failure with an “off the charts” level of methamphetamine in his system on March 7, five days after he consumed the Honey Bear beer can given to him by Himatjit Singh Kahlon who was found guilty of manslaughter at trial in October last year.
That methamphetamine came from a Manukau warehouse where police found 700kg of the Class A drug — the largest importation of meth to make it across the New Zealand border and come before the courts.
An unnamed man with permanent name suppression was sentenced for his part in the importation and was sentenced to 22 years — with a minimum period of imprisonment of 10 years. His charges were unrelated to Sagala’s death.
Kahlon was sentenced to 21 years for possession for supply and manslaughter, with a minimum period of 10 years.
‘I feel like I failed’
In 2023, Aiden moved in with his sister Dr Angela Sagala and her partner Billy Anelusi at their Auckland home.
She told 1News about when he was born and how she also named her brother two decades ago. “For us to have a baby brother, we felt so excited and we just thought there’s going to be someone to carry our last name,” she said.
Dr Angela Sagala — who worked as a physician at North Shore Hospital — received a phone call from Billy to say that Aiden had become agitated and collapsed after drinking from a can of Honey Bear-branded beer on March 2, 2023.
Arriving home, the young doctor had no idea her brother had unknowingly drunk liquid methamphetamine.
“Being his older sister, I had to not panic in that moment. My actions were calm, but my mind was racing a hundred miles an hour,” she said.
By this point, Aiden was frothing at the mouth and turning purple, so Angela began CPR.
“It was like a horror movie come to life,” she said.
“No one had thought about meth. We don’t take drugs in this family, we don’t even know anything about it other than watching it on TV, so that didn’t even cross our mind other than me thinking ‘he might have overdosed, or someone might have drugged him at work’.”
Angela said she still felt guilt that she couldn’t save her brother and was hard on herself because of that.
“You have all of this education, and you couldn’t save the one life you wanted to save,” she said.
“I feel like I failed the one person who relied on me.”
Amid all the pain, however, there has been some joy.
Angela found out she was pregnant at the end of 2023, giving birth to her son last year.
“With me being with my faith, God took one life but he gave one back,” she said.
“He gave us hope back into the family and he really did light us, like he’s everything to us, so we knew that my little boy was going to be called Aiden, and he is every bit like his uncle.”
‘The heart of our family’: Tributes paid to Aiden at sentencing
Several of Sagala’s family members spoke at the sentencing today at the Auckland High Court.
Aiden’s father Ma’aseia said he stood before the court as a “broken man whose life has been shattered”.
“My son was taken from me by the reckless actions of a man he trusted. It has destroyed my families world leaving me in a deep sorrow and emotional turmoil we will never recover from.”
He said Aiden was the “heart of the family” and “the pillar of our home”.
“He was not only a devoted son, but also created the wellbeing of our family on his shoulders.
“He had dreams of entering the New Zealand Army at 22 years old, the dream was stolen from him and the pain of knowing he will never fulfil his dreams is a sorrow for us.”
Aiden’s older sister Rachel said his death and way he died “put a scar in my heart” and that she had been “beating herself up” as she felt she had not been there for him.
“It affected, my sleep and my ability to trust people. It broke me mentally inside and it reached a point where I was about to give up on my studies.”
She said she had been trying to get used to the fact Aiden was “gone forever” for almost two years.
‘It still hurts, because he was our only brother who could keep our name alive.”
Aiden’s mother Lila said her son was “selfless and responsible”.
“He was the light of my life. His presence in our home was a source of great joy. Life was good when he was alive.”
The family depended on Aiden and he never let them down, she said.
“He would transfer money to help with our bills, pay for power, my husband’s insurance and even contributed to family obligations in the Islands.”
Police: ‘A tragedy at the heart of this investigation’
Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin acknowledges the sentences handed down in the Auckland High Court for the two men charged in the investigation.
Ultimately, the investigation seized 747 kilograms of methamphetamine largely stored in a Manukau warehouse.
It was the largest ever single seizure of methamphetamine in this country.
Baldwin said: “In usual circumstances, this would have been a significant haul dealing a blow to the criminal groups dealing in its supply.
“However, it was not lost of any of us that there has been a tragedy at the heart of this investigation.”
Police extended sympathies to Aiden’s family and friends for their loss.
“No matter the outcome today, Aiden’s family have had a bright young man taken away from them far too soon,” Baldwin said. “I would like to acknowledge their strength throughout this process.”
The Detective Inspector also acknowledged “the tenacious investigators who worked on Operation Lavender, bringing these two men to justice” as well as the assistance of Customs.
