$1m drug deal: accused kingpin held

The arrest of Daniel McGannan is one of the rare occasions where the alleged overseas-based drug supplier has been caught. Photo / Thinkstock

An accused cocaine kingpin in London has been charged with plotting the delivery of a $1 million drug shipment from South America to New Zealand.

Auckland detectives were able to trace the origin of the smuggled narcotics back to Britain where local police officers arrested and charged 28-year-old Daniel McGannan.

He is in custody and faces an extradition hearing this week to determine whether he will fly back to New Zealand to face trial on charges of importing 3kg of the Class A drug.

Five people were arrested in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch during a police operation last December, but the arrest of McGannan is one of the rare occasions where the alleged overseas-based drug supplier has been caught.

Only six foreign nationals have been extradited to New Zealand to face criminal charges since 2007 - an average of one each year.

McGannan was arrested in June and staff from the Westminster Magistrates Court said his extradition hearing would be on Friday.

Detectives from the Organised and Financial Crime Agency say McGannan liaised with a Mexican drug runner to smuggle cocaine to his contacts in New Zealand.

The 3kg of cocaine seized was hidden in a suitcase belonging to David Negrete Nevarez, who landed at Auckland Airport on a Lan Chile flight from Santiago in December.

The 43-year-old pleaded guilty to importing and possession for supply of the Class A drug and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Covert surveillance led to four other arrests around the country, two of them contractors helping rebuild Christchurch.

Brendan John Clarke agreed to find buyers for the cocaine, which was 80 per cent pure, after the original purchaser pulled out.

Police swooped when the Wellington man opened the suitcase to inspect the package.

The 37-year-old pleaded guilty to possession for supply and will spend four years and eight months in prison.

Clarke was a self-employed builder with 16 staff and worked as an Earthquake Commission contractor inspecting damaged Christchurch homes.

Three others said to be part of the distribution chain - two from Auckland and one from Wanaka - are still before the courts.

The bust is one of a growing number as cocaine gains in popularity among partygoers.

Nearly 11kg has been seized by Customs this year, a record amount, as cartels in Mexico and South America try to establish a local foothold.

At $325 a gram, cocaine is expensive in New Zealand. But law enforcement agencies believe Auckland is also a transit point to the Australian market and beyond.

Although cocaine is seen as a glamour drug of the rich and famous, smuggling it is a dangerous occupation.

The Herald revealed in June that an accused trafficker has also been charged with the manslaughter of his mother-in-law, who died when a drug package inside her burst open.

The case is believed to be a legal first in New Zealand.

Peter Phillip Leaitua, 40, will also face trial next year on cocaine-importing charges after a police investigation into the death of a Colombian woman in Auckland last September.

Sorlinda Aristizabal-Vega flew 10,300km from Buenos Aires with 520g of cocaine in her stomach, but died the day after she landed at Auckland Airport.