A Mt Eden Prison inmate who took part in a major drugs importation from behind prison bars has had four years added to his sentence.
Gary Victor Martin, aged 45, of Northland, was earlier found guilty by a jury of being involved with Rocky Pulete in importing nearly 1kg of amphetamine (speed) with a street value of $900,000 from Germany last May.
The jury in the High Court at Auckland had heard that the deal was organised from prison using cellphones.
Martin, serving four years for conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, had four years added to that term when he appeared for sentencing in front of Justice Peter Salmon.
The judge said Martin, a career criminal with convictions going back 30 years, was a secondary party to the importing.
Martin's lawyer, Chris Tennet, had asked the judge for a sentence of no more than two to three years.
Crown counsel Mark Treleaven told the judge the quantity of drugs involved was massive, and worth a lot of money.
An aggravating feature was that the deal was masterminded inside Mt Eden jail.
Pulete, described by the judge at sentencing as a notorious criminal, was earlier given a total of 14 years' jail for the drugs offending and an aggravated robbery.
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