SA man jailed in NZ for cocaine

2003-11-22 11:18

Auckland - A South African man charged for acting as a courier in one of the largest imports of cocaine into New Zealand, has been jailed for seven years.

New Zealand's High Court in Auckland ruled on Friday that Jean Nieuwoudt, 41, of Johannesburg, should serve a minimum prison term of three years.

Nieuwoudt arrived at Auckland Airport on September 25 with about 6.7kg of cocaine, worth about $2 million, in a suitcase.

He and an associate had travelled from South Africa to Buenos Aires, Santiago, Lima, Sao Paulo, Tahiti and Rarotonga before arriving in Auckland.

The sentencing was conducted behind locked doors with plain-clothes police officers on guard outside the courtroom. Police officers involved in the case and a woman, described as Nieuwoudt's "only lifeline to the outside world" since his arrest, were allowed inside.

The court was told the maximum penalty for importing a Class A drug such as cocaine was life imprisonment.

The court said Nieuwoudt, who had degrees in computer science and engineering, had led an otherwise blameless life. However, gross stupidity led him to becoming involved in a plan to import cocaine into Australia.

Nieuwoudt's defence said their client foolishly agreed to the importation thinking it would help his South African information technology business. - Sapa-NZPA

- SAPA