Ruben Aboujdid (28) was sentenced in the Dunedin District Court this afternoon to eight months' home detention (to be served in Christchurch) and 250 hours' community work.
He pleaded guilty in August last year to possessing the class-C drug for supply but disputed the allegation he was fully involved in the large-scale dealing operation.
At hearings before the Queenstown District Court he claimed he had helped co-defendant Paul Aubin and another friend called Max break down a large amount of cannabis into smaller bags while they were in Christchurch.
Aboujdid had an ounce of the drug in his backpack for his personal use but argued he had no idea the 2.4kg he had earlier divided had been packed into the stationwagon they then drove to Queenstown.
The police case was that all three men had come up with the plan to hit the tourist town after hearing cannabis was in short supply there.
They sourced hefty quantities of the drug from Motueka, the court heard.
On the evening of April 27, an off-duty police officer from Auckland was in Queenstown with friends and noticed people standing around a dark-coloured vehicle in Shotover St.
There was a strong smell of cannabis.
Three hours later she saw the same two men in the car but with a new group speaking to them.
The officer later returned to the scene, noted the number plate and called police to report her suspicions that the occupants were dealing.
About 2am the vehicle was located in Earl St with Aubin and Aboujdid inside.
A subsequent search uncovered 2.43kg of cannabis - worth almost $50,000 - and $950 in cash, along with a set of scales, grinders and a bong.
The cannabis was in snap-lock bags and plastic tubs, the court heard.
Aubin's counsel, Liam Collins, described it as "one of the most laughably unsophisticated cannabis operations ever".
Judge Kevin Phillips said the enterprise was “a calculated plan” but they were undone by their laziness.
“You stayed in the same place for too long . . . and you were rumbled,” he said.
Max, who was not in the vehicle, subsequently fled the country before he could be arrested.
Aboujdid originally came up with a story that a man had approached them in Hagley Park, threatened them with a pistol, and forced them to be drug mules.
But he later admitted that was a lie.
Judge Phillips, following the disputed-facts hearing, said he rejected Aboujdid’s explanation he had become unwittingly involved.
It was “remarkable and basically unbelievable'' he could have helped the other two men break down and package the cannabis and then thought nothing more about it.
Aboujdid’s early explanation showed he was willing to “say or do anything to get out of the predicament he finds himself in”, the judge said.
“You are a liar.”
Since charges had been laid, the defendant’s sister Mia had posted a petition on Change.org urging friends and relatives to testify that “Ruben is neither a criminal nor a drug dealer but that, on the contrary, he is a healthy person, with good intentions”.
It had attracted more than 1500 signatures.
Judge Phillips said references provided to the court painting Aboujdid as naïve were “absolute rubbish”.
“I'm extremely alarmed a French national would come to New Zealand and see it as an easy market,” he said.
Last year, Aubin was sentenced to seven months' home detention and 250 hours' community work.
