From left Deni Cavallo, 46, Matthew Scott, 44, Benjamin Northway, 35, and Mario Habulin, 45. Photo/File
From left Deni Cavallo, 46, Matthew Scott, 44, Benjamin Northway, 35, and Mario Habulin, 45. Photo/File
Four men facing a raft of charges stemming from a $20m cocaine bust will defend the allegations at a jury trial.
Matthew Scott, 44, Mario Habulin, 45, Benjamin Northway, 35, and Deni Cavallo, 46, were all arrested after the 46kg of cocaine was seized last month.
Police allege the drugshad been stored in a hidden compartment on the exterior hull of the container ship Maersk Antares, which arrived at the Port of Tauranga from Chile on October 31.
The four men, who appeared in the Tauranga District Court today via an audio-visual link from prison, have denied a total of 44 charges, mainly relating to the importation of cocaine into New Zealand and possessing the drug for supply.
Scott pleaded not guilty to a total of 14 charges, Habulin to 17 charges, Northway to eight offences, and Cavallo has denied five charges.
Lawyers for the four men entered not-guilty pleas on behalf of their clients who have elected trial by jury to defend the allegations.
Crown solicitor Anna Pollett was granted leave by Judge David Cameron to add one or more of the defendants in respect to some of the earlier charges.
Judge Cameron further remanded the four defendants in custody to next appear in the same court on March 6 for a case review hearing.
No trial date has yet been set down.
Two other people are also facing charges but the pair have not yet been served warrants to appear in court and they were granted interim name suppression by Judge Cameron.
Another two defendants, who earlier denied their charges in the Auckland District Court, have also been remanded to appear at the March 6 case review hearing.
