An undercover police sting trapped a second-hand gold dealer who melted down stolen jewellery and sold it. Rob Burgess weighed the gold on his scales as his wife got the cash out. He was planning on serving his time on the north-west Auckland lifestyle block he and his wife bought after years of running Rob's Traders in Avondale. Police talked about there being much more at stake, but Judge Geoff Rea made it clear to the court Burgess could be sentenced only on the charge to which he had pleaded. That meant the other -evidence, which put the -value of melted-down gold at $1.6m, had no relevance in the criminal proceedings.

Source: New Zealand Herald March 11, 2017 15:56 UTC