Tonight on Close Up ` are our drug laws making a difference? Behind the latest legal high being sold online. Good Bastards gone bad ` the camper van taken on an 18-day booze cruise without the owner's consent. And the American businessman on what we have to fear from Chinese investment. Due to the live nature of Close Up, captions for some items may be incomplete. ONE News captions by Hannah Reynolds and Diana Beeby. Close Up captions by Richard Edmunds and Kelsey Taylor. When it was discovered synthetic highs like Kronic were available over the counter at dairies, the government bowed to public pressure and banned them. But is the ban a joke? Other designer drugs have taken their place, the latest a pseudo LSD powder called Dime. Available online, it's supposed to be legal, but our investigation shows the supplier could be in big trouble. PERCUSSIVE TRIBAL RHYTHM First there were party pills, then there was Kronic. Now there's a new high on the market called Dime. MUSIC CONTINUES It's a capsule containing white powder, claimed to share the effects of ecstasy and LSD. Snorting can be a dramatic and uncontrolled experience. Dime is being sold online, and the website claims it's completely legal. But we thought that sounded too good to be true. What's really in those capsules? Is it dangerous? Do the people who're taking it know what they're playing with? It is the next most potent hallucinogen compared to LSD. At 30 bucks for two capsules, Dime is one of the cheapest synthetic highs on the market. To buy it, all you need is a credit card, so we did. The drug turned up in the mail. The Dime website says swallowing the capsule will have no effect. Instead, you're told to snort the contents. A user of Dime, who we'll call Nick, says this new drug is potent. It's very heavy; very intense. You can feel nauseous for the first half an hour or so. After that, you're just enjoying basically everything for at least a good six to 10 hours. It's an all-round party buzz. Makes me party longer, and I just enjoy my night. Do you think it's safe? No, I don't think it's safe. It's not going to stop me taking it, primarily because of that buzz. Nick says once the high wears off, the drug leaves you wide awake. You just can't sleep. You can just lie in bed with your eyes open the whole night, basically. So how can a drug so powerful be legal? The company behind Dime is Vonk Limited. Its director is Kurt von Keisenberg (26) Hello, is anyone there? DOG BARKS It's Jehan here, from the Close Up programme. We travelled to Hamilton to track them down. Hi, this is Kurt. Leave me a message. PHONE BEEPS Kurt agreed to an interview. So, you have a chemistry degree? I do, yes. How did Dime come about? I came across a drug through scientific journal articles and then internet discussions. I could purchase the stuff and process it into something sellable. So who manufactures the drug? We get it from a Polish company, but I believe they have it made in China. So you've been importing this drug? Yes. It comes as a pure white powder. You were sure that it was legal? I was. I am still. Dr Paul Quigley is not convinced. He's the head of the ED at Wellington Hospital, and says a drug which gives hallucinations can be dangerous. With hallucinogens, one of the problems is you get this injury rate, where people harm themselves, either in terror from the hallucination or trying to act out something during the hallucination. They get frightened, and they run off. But people run off through glass windows, they run across motorways, they get hit by cars. And with Dime giving a high lasting six hours, the risks are high. That's a long time to look after someone if they're tripping. People when they hallucinate are really difficult to communicate with. You can't explain to them that they need to sit down and things. They don't hear you. They don't understand. They just see colours, sounds, images, so you literally have to do one-on-one care for them. Did you ever get this drug tested in a lab before you started distributing it? > No, but I did not feel there was a need. Well, we thought there was a need. So we commissioned testing at ESR, the government-owned laboratory. Our tests reveal Dime contains a class C drug. In fact, it's a modified version of a class A drug called DOB. This is one of the new designer hallucinogens, which has been in the market in Europe and then into Australia for perhaps between two to five years. It is the next most potent hallucinogen compared to LSD, and LSD and this drug, you are talking drops; you're talking micrograms of this stuff to create the effect. We gave Kurt the test results. OK, well, so this is the same drug, but I'd like to talk to them first about how they decided this is class C. You agree this is the drug they've identified? Yes, I do. We don't want to break the law here. But on the face of it you have. Possibly. If that's true, it's a mistake on my part. A big mistake. What's your message to the people who've bought this drug? Thank you for your support. You don't want to apologise for selling them a product that's illegal? (SIGHS) Well, if they find themselves in trouble because of that, then, yes, it is my fault, and I am very sorry. Kurt now accepts he's been selling a class C drug. After our story, police, customs and the Ministry of Health are investigating. What are you going to do now? Pull everything that we've got at the moment, destroy it, shut everything down. Will you be trying this again? Well, this has caused me a lot of stress and hassle lately, so probably not. That story was produced by Shalleen Hern. The Dime website was owned and operated by a friend of Kurt, who sold the product to the public. That website has now been taken down, and the drug can no longer be purchased. But why is it so easy for drugs like this to end up on sale in the first place? Associate health minister Peter Dunne joins me now. Minister, there is supposed to be some testing regime in place. We're talking about two different things. This drug contains an legal substance. It's illegal. That becomes a matter for the police and a matter for customs in terms of border protection. But if we had a testing regime, that would have picked up the fact that contained a class a drug. That's correct. But by virtue of containing a drug, it automatically becomes illegal. I thought the whole idea was to stop these pseudo-legal drugs entering the market. What happened to the testing regime? We brought an emergency legislation last August. When we did that, the substances we classified became the equivalent of these illegal drugs. I said then that we would bring in more permanent legislation. I'm getting advice about that later in the year. Is it on the government's legislative programme? Yes. What we did last year was allow a temporary ban to be introduced that can be extended. If that ban does run out, you'll have to apply it again. We will have permanent legislation in place before the extension runs out. The information I have seen shows that the use of synthetic cannabinoids has evaporated. The industry virtually no longer exists. Patients aren't asked ` 'Were you taking anything?' I'm relying on data provided by the National Poison Centre. That's why make the claim that we have solved that problem. The important thing now with time is that the regulatory authorities do their job. Hopefully next time, close-up won't have to discover it for them. Coming up, it was a prized truck she wanted a dealer to sell on her behalf. So why was it taken on an 18-day Rugby World Cup road trip instead? And what Auckland city councillors really think of the port strike. With the Auckland port strike heating up, what have the owners got to say? That's you, if you live in Auckland, which means the councillors, in effect, are your agents. So we hit the phones today to ask all 20 Auckland City councillors two questions. Of the 16 we reached, one, Noelene Raffills, refused to answer either. On question one, 'Who do you support ` the ports or the union?', eight said ports, two the union and five gave no direct answer. We don't want to call them undecideds, because all had a view, but they believed the issue wasn't as cut and dried as our question. Our second question was, 'Should the mayor get more involved in resolving the dispute?' Seven said yes. Eight said no. And there's a call from councillors for the mayor to hold an extraordinary meeting of the council to confirm where it stands, which might be useful, given our results. Many councillors said the dispute had gone on long enough, and Mike Lee said if the question was just 'Who do you support?', his answer would be 'the ratepayers'. And Wayne Walker reckoned the council had a role in 'knocking heads together'. That's our snapshot of where the council is right now. During the Rugby World Cup, loads of people hit the road to see the games. Nothing unusual there. But one group, styling themselves 'The Good Bastards' did it with a horse truck they didn't own, taken without the owner's permission, returning it with an extra 3000 K on the speedo and $5000 worth of damage. So how did this come about? We sent Matt Chisholm to investigate further. TRUCK BEEPS The core group is 20. TRUCK BEEPS That's 19 blokes; one sheila. Welcome to the Good Bastards Rugby World Cup Tour. Good bastards... turned bad. The hub is two horse floats with the backs folded down to make a beer garden. That's my truck. It's a booze wagon! A party truck! Of course, we've got Party Central in the middle. And beyond that, of course, we've got the lift-up beds, the projector screen... I can't believe somebody's taken a truck that doesn't belong to them and done this. Cheryl Burrill wants answers. Sorry. Who did you hire the vehicle to, Glen? She wants to know how her pride and joy... I designed it; had it built. ...a $180,000 horse truck, ended up on an 18-day Rugby World Cup booze cruise around the country. MEN MOO We brought you the Good Bastards story back in September last year. Little did we know one of the two trucks they were using was taken without the owner's consent. This truck wasn't for hire. This truck was for sale. Cheryl only discovered her truck had been on that Good Bastards tour last week in an awful saga that started way back in June, when she took her truck into South Auckland Caravan Ltd and asked this man, Glen O'Donnell, to sell it on her behalf. Cos I was flying out in July to go overseas. And I said, 'I'm away for three or four months.' And in that time, I had hoped he would sell my truck. Did you at any stage give the caravan company the authority to hire out the truck or put the truck on trial? No. People come in, they like it, and they take it and get it checked out by a mechanic ` truck mechanic or something. That's a test drive ` you know, a 10K test drive. When Cheryl first realised her vehicle was no longer at the caravan park, she hit the salesman up. I said, 'How long has it been on trial?' And he said, '10 days, two weeks'. I said, 'You don't let a truck go out for that length of time.' I said, 'Who's got the truck.' And he said, 'Some people with horses in Matamata.' Try Nelson, and not a horse in sight. Cheryl's truck would travel a massive 3200km on the Good Bastards Tour,... Some trial run. ...and return with about $5000 worth of damage. This, obviously, was a sticker. And when they pulled the sticker off, it's all got to be sanded and repainted. The toilet ` well, I'm sure it's had overuse syndrome, because it doesn't work properly. I've spent $750 on repairs, and it's still not working properly. And here's a dent in the truck here ` obviously something hit it. And that's just the start of it. Cheryl's truck is now parked up until someone foots the bill. < Who do you point the bone at? Glen at the caravan centre. He was responsible for this vehicle. Glen O'Donnell has offered to have his people fix the vehicle,.. I don't want him near my truck. ...but for Cheryl, that doesn't really cut the mustard. Somebody needs to pay me for using the truck, hireage, mileage, the damages, my loss of time in selling it now. And with her communications with Mr O'Donnell proving fruitless, we thought we'd pay him a visit. He initially hid from our camera while supposedly talking to his lawyer. But after waiting for about 20 minutes,... I can't tell you anything, but we're more than happy... I'm actually happy to sit and talk to you, but not at this stage. How much did you earn for hiring this vehicle out for 18 days? No comment. Glen. Glen. That's what I've been told to say. Sorry. Glen, can you tell us who you hired the vehicle out to? Sorry, no comment. Our timeframes aren't as good as yours, perhaps. Who did you hire the vehicle to? Um, I was told I had to get you off the property. I don't want to fight with you, mate. Sorry. Who did you hire the vehicle to, Glen? LOCK CLICKS With no luck here, it was time to visit the guys who call themselves the Good Bastards. It was an accidental coincidence, really, where one of the boys was actively in the market for horse trucks. We went and looked at three different horse trucks, and basically... We took one on apro. So, what did you pay for the use of that truck? Yeah, some things that go on tour stay on tour. You know that. Tony Fraser, however, told me earlier on the phone that he'd paid Glen O'Donnell $5000 to hire the truck and another $5000 for a bond. < Did he know you were going to cruise around the country for eight games during the Rugby World Cup? He knew that we were moving around the World Cup, for sure. So why did the salesman allow that to happen? No one wanted to know more than Cheryl Burrill, who tracked him down at his very majestic home. Glen's driving a 2007 Range Rover. Do you think he'd be happy if someone took that for an 18-day road trip? Definitely not. I think he'd be spitting tacks. Glen, can I have a chat with you, please? I'd like to get this resolved. Glen wasn't keen to leave the comfort of his home and was no longer keen to do an interview. Instead, he sent someone else to deliver us the phone and his lawyer, who said this wasn't a story; that he'd be providing us a statement and that he'd be happy to sort this out with Cheryl. You're encouraging Cheryl to continue to go back to Glen O'Donnell. Are you happy with that, Cheryl? No, not at all. Not at all. Why is that, Cheryl? Because he's lied to me, he's dodged me, he's given me the runaround, and now I want answers, and I want money for what they've done. Answers and money that weren't forthcoming today. Gutless wonder. Why can't he just come out, clear this up...? You know, everybody wants to move on, including me. But you get the feeling this is far from over. Tell him I haven't gone away, cos I won't go away. Coming up, the American businessman keen to keep Kiwis in the know about the pros and cons of foreign investment. I don't think it's unusual for people from NZ to be nervous about Chinese investing. The Crafar farm sale prompted a wave of concern over Chinese investment in this country ` concerns labelled xenophobic. But the bulk of overseas investment is made by the likes of Bill Foley, one of America's most successful businessmen and no fan of Chinese economic expansion. He owns numerous wineries and one of this country's flashest lodges. This is how the other half live. The Wairarapa's Wharekauhau Lodge is now the proud possession of American billionaire Bill Foley. You already on the wine, huh? Absolutely. Hey, how are you? I'm Bill. He came here with Carol, his wife of 43 years, for a visit, fell in love, then snapped it up. We'll give you the same good deal on wine. The party is for former shareholders in Te Kairangi winery. Bill's just bought that to add to other ones he owns. The shareholders didn't get much out of the deal, but Bill wants to look after them, as his own wine empire expands. 5000 cases, and now we're including NZ, we're a million cases. Bill Foley is the face of the overseas investor, but one he says we have no need to fear. I'm a good steward of the land. I'm not here to take advantage. I'm here to be part of the community and part of a` and be a good businessman and a good investor, but I'm also here to make a profit. The Westpoint graduate is a self-made man now in love with wine. But to get where he's got, you must be tough. I'm not tough, but the guys who work for me are. (LAUGHS) But overseas investors have come in for a clobbering lately, especially the Chinese, and Bill Foley is not surprised. It's the way we feel. I think we're` Americans are equally worried about China and the strength of China; the massive population. I don't think it's unusual for people from NZ to be nervous about Chinese investing and becoming a big part of the investment base in this country. They are in it for China. They always` They really are, and it's just my opinion, and I'm not a politician. But you are a businessman, and aren't American businessmen in it for America? American businessmen are in it for America, and we're in it to make a return. I'm probably a little bit different, because I'm heavily involved in NZ in terms of being an investor and a businessman, and I love the country, and I could live here. I could` I could be part` If I weren't so heavily committed to the United States and my investors there, this is a place I could live and become a resident and really enjoy, cos it's just such a great country. So, yeah, I'd say I'd agree. Americans are in it for their own well-being and their own gain, but we are sort of from the same socio-economic background as people from NZ. We're deluding ourselves in America by having inexpensive goods produced in China, so I'm about America should be taking care of America now, and NZ should be taking care of NZ, and I would be worried about large investments coming in from China. There don't seem any worries about his new neighbour and fellow overseas investor, film director James Cameron. Is this an American enclave? (LAUGHS) Well, he's Canadian. A North American enclave, then. Um, I never thought of it that way. I just thought of it as such a beautiful place. It's a wonderful place for me to come and stay when I'm in NZ and use as a base of operations, so you'd have to ask James Cameron why he moved next door. Probably because he fell in love with the Wairarapa. But when it comes to charity, he takes his cue from Julian Robertson, the American billionaire who with his wife gifted a fabulous art collection to this country. That's the kind of guy I need to be too, and that will evolve over time. Do you get hit on for charities and things here? I mean, have you got people saying, 'Hey!' Not yet. (LAUGHS) It may happen after this interview. And it's started already ` Bill's wife, Carol, has established three scholarships in this country. We'll put details on our website. And that's NZ Close Up. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air.