Czech drug-smuggler Karel Sroubek used false name for fancy Kiwi wedding

Wedding photos of Czech drug-smuggler Karel Sroubek masquerading under the identity he adopted to fraudulently start over in New Zealand have emerged.

Sroubek was once the winner of a Fashion Week experience with New Zealand Weddings and suit makers Crane Brothers, which entitled him to a custom-made Italian wool suit for his big day.

"What better time than your wedding to have a bespoke suit made?" he told New Zealand Weddings.

"The fact that I could wear something of such excellence – and then keep it for occasions beyond 'I do' – was an exciting prospect."

The photos were used by New Zealand Weddings in April 2016.

Sroubek, speaking under his alias Jan Antolik, told the magazine he choose copper buttons for his suit because he wanted to add a point of difference.

"I found shoes in a matching tone, then spent an hour at the shop choosing the bow tie and pocket square – the options are endless," he told New Zealand Weddings.

"But in the end, the idea was to keep it simple. We chose a classic navy bow tie and a white pocket square with navy polka dots."

Sroubek entered the country under the name Jan Antolik in September 2003.

He was just 22 when he immigrated and did not speak English but went on to find success as a businessman and kickboxer.

In 2011, a jury found him guilty of having a false passport and lying to immigration officials but he was later discharged without conviction and ordered to undertake community work.

Sroubek claimed he fled his homeland because his family was threatened by corrupt police officers who wanted him to give false witness testimony in a murder trial.

Judge Roy Wade said if Sroubek was deported he would be in danger from corrupt Czech authorities.

Karel Sroubek, is serving a prison sentence for drug-smuggling, but the Immigration Minister has offered him NZ residency. Photo / Steven McNicholl

In 2016, Sroubek was sentenced to five years and nine months' imprisonment after being convicted of smuggling 5kg of MDMA with a street value of $375,000 into New Zealand.

He appealed that conviction last year, claiming the drugs were planted to frame him, but it was rejected by the Court of Appeal.

Sroubek was previously acquitted of committing an aggravated robbery with two members of the Hells Angels.

This week it emerged Sroubek was going to be deported until Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway granted him residency.

Lees-Galloway's decision allows Sroubek to stay in country under his real name on the conditions that he cannot be convicted of any offence or provide false information to a Government agency for the next five years.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern initally defended that decision on the grounds Sroubek's life was at risk.

However, the National Party has insisted it would have deported Sroubek if it were in power, and has called on Lees-Galloway to resign if he cannot justify his decision.

Yesterday, Lees-Galloway announced there might be information that contradicts what he had relied on to make his decision.

Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway made his announcement yesterday. Photo / Mark Mitchell

"This is a very serious matter, as far as I am concerned, so I am taking advice on what the course of action is at this stage," he said.

Sroubek is believed to have returned to the Czech Republic since arriving in 2003, which challenges the notion that his life would be at a risk if he were deported.

National Party leader Simon Bridges criticised the minister for not asking the "hard questions" earlier.

"Even a simple Google search would have told Lees-Galloway that the parole board didn't believe this man, a court of appeal didn't believe him.

"He just clearly got the report, signed it, and didn't ask those hard questions."

Immigration NZ is now investigating claims that contradict why Sroubek was granted residency.