Two foreign nationals accused of taking part in a conspiracy to import 91kg of cocaine into New Zealand on a container ship have been remanded in custody.
Carlos Davide Ferreira-Sampaio (45), of Portugal, and Matthew Luke Hodder (31), of Melbourne, appeared before the Dunedin District Court yesterday morning where both entered no plea or application for bail.
Both were remanded in custody until October 13, as sought by crown prosecutor Richard Smith.
Brian Kilkelly, the counsel for Mr Hodder, said he was awaiting full disclosure from the prosecution.
Judge Michael Turner said pleas would be expected on the defendants’ next court date.
Both defendants have been charged with conspiring to deal a class-A drug.
In a statement this week, police attributed the attempted importation to an “international crime syndicate”.
They said the defendants were arrested on Saturday attempting to take drugs off a ship docked at Port Chalmers.
The massive cocaine haul, however, had earlier been seized by US police in August.
The Otago Daily Times understands the vessel was container ship Spirit of Auckland, which, according to online shipping records, had spent time in Philadelphia and South Carolina, before visiting Panama, Tauranga and Melbourne.
It docked at Port Chalmers on Saturday morning for a 16-hour stay.
