Michael Harrison-Cooper (33) and Johnathon 'Jack' Seal (27) were sentenced in the High Court at Christchurch on Wednesday by Justice Gerald Nation for their role in the shipment of nearly 40kg of the class A drug that was hidden in 20 boxes of safety lamps.
The pair pleaded guilty in April this year to one importing charge each, but still maintain they were set up and were unaware of the illegal nature of the operation and who organised it.
However this afternoon, the pair were both jailed for 12 years and four months.
Another man, Simote Vea (38) was jailed for 15 years and seven months for his involvement in the operation, which included two other shipments that were sent to Auckland.
The freight company worker used his role to organise the shipments - something Justice Nation said was an abuse of his role that held responsibility and power.
Through their lawyers, Seal and Cooper maintained that the shipment of safety lamps was for the construction of a central city car park.
But Justice Nation did not believe the cover story, or that either of the men were naive to the offending, which was shown by their use of burner phones, false addresses and names, the court was told.
The total value of all three packages was about $8.6 million.
A routine customs check of a Singapore Airlines flight to Christchurch in November 2017 revealed the drugs. They were replaced with a similar looking powder and transported to the planned destination - a warehouse in central Christchurch.
Police surveillance of the site revealed that Cooper and Seal were involved, and a dramatic raid of their homes in Northwood and Shirley two weeks later led to their arrest.
Police believe gangs masterminded the operation, and Cooper and Seal were involved because of their relatively low profiles.
Detective Sergeant Chris Power previously said inquiries had revealed Cooper was linked to a number of organised crime groups through his social media apps.
Det Sgt Power said Seal had told police an “elaborate cover story”, saying he and Cooper had been set up by an individual who police have not been able to find and whom they believe is fictitious.
