Philip Aaron Frederick Rasmussen, 52, appeared before Judge David Robinson in the Dunedin District Court yesterday.
He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for importing methamphetamine.
On July 12 last year, Rasmussen was recruited by Grant Beale to pick up a package from a Dunedin backpackers which contained nearly 2kg of methamphetamine.
Beale himself had been recruited to arrange an address for the package.
The package was addressed to "Marcell Cogan".
Police and Customs inquiries revealed this was a fictitious name and no person by that name had any connection with the delivery address.
Customs records showed the Dunedin package had the same gross weight, had come from the same supplier and had the same contact phone number listed as a package that had been intercepted in Auckland.
Both packages came from Singapore, but the summary of facts said there were no suggestions Rasmussen and Beale had any involvement with the Auckland consignment.
Under police questioning, Rasmussen initially stated the package "included car parts for Beale’s car" and at no point did he open the package.
Later, Rasmussen acknowledged he was aware the package contained methamphetamine, although he understood it contained only 1kg of the drug.
Rasmussen had been offered $5000 to collect the package, but never received any money.
Judge Robinson told the defendant his crime had a "high degree of recklessness" and could in part be linked to his intellectual disabilities.
"You had a messy role where you have been exploited through your naivety and your disadvantaged background, motivated primarily by your own addictions.
"What is of particular mind in assessing sentencing is that you have been assessed as suffering from a mental disability across a range of domains."
Rasmussen had a "moderate" risk of reoffending, said Judge Robinson, who also acknowledged a psychologist’s report.
The report suggested a punitive sentence would do little to help Rasmussen’s rehabilitation.
"The pre-sentence report is positive. It records your feelings of regret. You’ve detailed to the report writer life events that render you vulnerable to negative peer associates.
"You’re unable to stand up for yourself. You’re vulnerable to being bullied and taken advantage of."
Judge Robinson said there were some indications that rehabilitation could be possible.
"Anyone that facilitates the importation of methamphetamine into New Zealand, no matter how minor their involvement, needs to receive full knowledge that lengthy-term imprisonment awaits those that are so foolish to become involved.
"Having said that, the gravity of offending is reduced given the matters that impact on your culpability. My assessment is that you are as much an offender as you are a victim in this case."
He set the starting point at three and a-half years’ imprisonment for the offending, and made discounts for his guilty plea and "diminished intellectual capacity", reducing the overall sentence to two years.
