Drug importer hid cocaine in letters

A High Court judge told a drug importer he had just put away for 15 years: "This sentence is, if anything, lenient."

Justice John Laurenson handed down the term yesterday on Lei Cai, 26, from Australia, who was found guilty in June of importing 2.6kg of cocaine worth $3.5 million and having the drug for supply.

The drugs were in 259 letters sent to post office boxes around Auckland in April last year.

The judge told Cai the offending was close to the most serious and he would have to serve a minimum nine years behind bars before being deported to Australia.

Another Australian member of the international drug ring, Abdalla Ali, 21, admitted similar charges at the start of the trial and was jailed for 14 years with a minimum 7 1/2 years' jail.

Justice Laurenson said there was a need to deter stupid people from accepting the blandishments of the "cold, cruel, greedy, manipulating" organisers in all parts of the globe.

The judge took into account that the pair would have to serve their sentences away from their homeland and their families.

He said that the offending was repetitive and sustained, requiring considerable planning and expense.

While the masterminds were elsewhere, the pair's roles were far greater than couriers.

Cai was a senior member of the organisation and Ali was his right-hand man in Auckland.

The jury heard that another syndicate member, Julio Madrid, who was not on trial, rented a house in Kilimanjaro Drive, Botany Downs, as a base, paying $17,600 in advance.

Part of the plan involved leasing 100 post office boxes at $125 a time in various names around Auckland for the drug to be sent to.

On April 2 last year Customs officers saw Ali pick up Cai from Auckland Airport.

The next day Customs officers and police watched as they drove to post boxes in Pakuranga, Ellerslie, Panmure and Royal Oak collecting envelopes.

The pair realised they were being followed and drove out of sight into Hall Ave, Mangere, where they disposed of the drug envelopes.

When police stopped them in central Auckland they found no envelopes, drugs or box keys.

However, documents relating to post office boxes were found at the Botany Downs property.

Police and Customs then searched other post office boxes around the city.

They found 175 envelopes, all purportedly from Canadian charities, each with about 10g of cocaine. More were found at the Botany Downs house.