Aiden Sagala was just 21 when a seemingly innocent act after work would change not only his life but also the course of a major criminal investigation in New Zealand. On March 2, 2023, in Auckland, Aiden reached for a cold beer—a gift from his boss—hoping to unwind after a long day. What he didn’t know was that this can of 'Honey Bear Beer,' imported from Canada, was hiding a deadly secret inside: liquid methamphetamine.
According to reporting from The Mirror and Cp24, Aiden was living with his sister Angela and brother-in-law Billy at the time. That evening, Aiden, Billy, and a friend decided to try the tall cans labeled as 'Honey Bear Beer.' But after his first sip, Aiden immediately sensed something was wrong. He turned to Billy and asked, “Does your beer taste salty?” Billy, curious, took a sip from Aiden’s can. He later recalled, “I went to have a taste to see what he meant. So I only took a sip, but I spat that out real fast... it tasted like sea salt with chemicals. I told him I didn’t fully swallow.”
Within minutes, things took a frightening turn. Aiden called his mother, his voice growing increasingly frantic. He emerged from his room, distressed and physically agitated, repeatedly shouting, “I want my mom, I want my mom. I’m dying, I want mom. I’m dying, I want mom,” as Billy remembered. All the while, his mother listened helplessly over the phone, unable to do anything but hear her son’s desperate pleas.
Angela, Aiden’s sister and a doctor, rushed home as soon as Billy called her in a panic. By the time she arrived, Aiden’s face had started to turn blue. She immediately called for an ambulance and began performing CPR on her younger brother. Despite her efforts and the urgency of the situation, it took nearly an hour for paramedics to arrive. Tragically, Aiden slipped into a coma and died five days later. The official cause of death was multiple organ failure from a lethal dose of methamphetamine.
As reported by The Mirror, Aiden’s untimely death was the key that unlocked a massive drug smuggling operation with international reach. When New Zealand police began investigating, they traced the origins of the tainted beer back to a storage unit in Auckland. A raid on the unit uncovered a staggering 700 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine—the largest meth seizure in New Zealand’s history.
The investigation revealed a sophisticated operation, with drugs imported under the guise of everyday beverages. Baltej Singh, the owner of a local supermarket and a respected businessman with ties to a prominent Indian family, was identified as the mastermind behind the imports. According to police statements cited by Cp24, Singh orchestrated shipments of kombucha from the United States, coconut water from India, and nearly 29,000 cans of ‘Honey Bear Beer’ from Toronto, Canada. The methamphetamine was hidden in these beverage shipments to avoid detection.
Himatjit ‘Jimmy’ Kahlon, Aiden’s boss, was also implicated. Security cameras captured Kahlon removing cases of beer from the storage unit. Police accused him of assisting in the processing of the liquid methamphetamine into crystal meth. In what would prove a fatal error, Kahlon had been giving away excess cans that he believed contained only beer. Unbeknownst to him, some of these cans still held liquid methamphetamine, one of which ended up in Aiden’s hands. Kahlon was later charged with manslaughter for his role in Aiden’s death.
The scale and audacity of the smuggling ring shocked authorities and the public alike. The case highlighted how international drug networks can exploit legitimate supply chains, using seemingly harmless consumer goods as vehicles for trafficking. The discovery of 700 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine not only set a record for New Zealand law enforcement but also raised alarms about the evolving tactics of drug syndicates operating across borders.
According to The Mirror, Baltej Singh faced charges for running the import operation, while Kahlon stood accused of manslaughter. Both men’s arrests sent ripples through Auckland’s business community and beyond, particularly given Singh’s standing as a respected grocer and his connections to a notable family in India. The case underscored the often-hidden intersections between everyday commerce and organized crime.
The human cost of this criminal enterprise was brought sharply into focus by Aiden’s story. For his family, the loss was devastating. Angela, who fought to save her brother’s life, was left grappling with the trauma of his sudden decline and the knowledge that, despite her medical training, she could not save him. Billy, too, was haunted by the memory of Aiden’s last words and the sense of helplessness as the tragedy unfolded. The hour-long wait for paramedics only deepened their anguish, raising questions about emergency response times and the challenges faced by first responders in Auckland.
In the aftermath, Aiden’s death became a catalyst for change. The police investigation, sparked by a single fatal mistake, dismantled a major supply route for methamphetamine into New Zealand. The seizure of the drugs and the subsequent arrests disrupted a network spanning India, the United States, and Canada, and prevented untold quantities of the dangerous substance from reaching the streets.
The story also served as a stark warning about the dangers lurking in unexpected places. For many in New Zealand and beyond, the idea that a can of beer could be a vessel for deadly drugs was almost unthinkable. Yet, as the details of the case emerged, it became clear that vigilance is needed at every stage of the supply chain, from importers to retailers to everyday consumers.
As the legal process continues for those accused, the memory of Aiden Sagala remains at the heart of the story—a young life lost, but not forgotten, whose tragic fate helped expose a criminal network and protect countless others from harm.
