A former Wanganui man has been found not guilty of importing cocaine via his mother-in-law's stomach in an incident that killed her.
Peter Leaitua, now 43, was returning to New Zealand from Colombia via Argentina with his partner, two children and mother-in-law in 2012.
The mother-in-law, Sorlinda Vega, had swallowed 26 packets, or about half a kilo, of cocaine and managed to get through Customs. However, the following day two of the packets split in her stomach and she died in Auckland Hospital of acute cocaine poisoning, 21 hours after arriving in the country. The cocaine was estimated to be worth $120,000 to $190,000.
Mr Leaitua then became a target of investigations by Argentine and New Zealand police.
He was originally charged with manslaughter and importing cocaine. It can be revealed he was discharged on the manslaughter charge in April last year.