A convicted member of a South American drug-smuggling ring says he should be treated more leniently because importing cocaine into NZ is less serious than bringing in meth.
The man was one of a number of South Americans working in Canterbury as a dairy farmer whilst being involved in the smuggling ring.
For almost four years, they were smuggling in massive quantities of cocaine worth tens of millions of dollars.
Authorities believe the group were the biggest supplier of the class A substance in New Zealand between 2018 and 2021.
The 37-year-old was jailed last year after pleading guilty to participating in an organised criminal group and personally importing 11.4kg of cocaine.
He was sentenced last July to 14 years and seven months in prison.
The man’s lawyers took an appeal against that sentence to the Court of Appeal, arguing the 18-year starting point was too high.
“Counsel says that cocaine offending should be sentenced more leniently than methamphetamine offending, and that the 18-year starting point was too high even for methamphetamine importation.”
They relied on two reports, a study in the Journal of Psychopharmacology and the New Zealand Illicit Drug Harm Index 2023, which suggested that cocaine is “substantially less” harmful than meth and other illicit drugs in New Zealand.
The appeal has been dismissed.
