Jail after big drug cache detected

Two foreign men will spend between 17 and 19 years behind bars for smuggling the largest recorded cocaine haul in New Zealand history.

American Ronald Cook, 58, and Mexican Augustine Suarez-Juarez, 46, were found guilty of smuggling 35kg of cocaine into the country last year.

Suarez-Juarez was sentenced to 19 years and nine months in prison and Cook was sentenced to 17 years nine months behind bars.

Customs found the 35kg stash of high-grade cocaine valued at $14 million smuggled inside a diamante-encrusted horse sculpture. The largest cocaine bust recorded previously was 6kg.

A jury found the pair guilty after a four-week trial concluded in July at the High Court in Auckland.

Suarez was found guilty of importing, possession and supply and Cook was found guilty of possession and supply. Both men denied all charges. Justice Sarah Katz said the pair were part of a large scale, sophisticated and highly commercial drug trafficking ring.

She said Suarez-Juarez was responsible for overseeing the operation and was at the ‘‘top of the tree’’ in the New Zealand distribution. He had contact with the masterminds in Mexico, she said.

Cook provided handyman skills to extract the drugs from the sculpture and was Suarez-Juarez’s right hand man.

The 400kg sculpture raised eyebrows after being freighted by air from Mexico to Auckland in May 2016, and sparked a joint investigation by customs and police.

Cook and Suarez-Juarez claimed they were in New Zealand for a diving holiday.

When the drugs were discovered by Customs, they planted a trap - replacing 34 of the 35 packages with a harmless powder.

In the 35th package, police placed a recording device, polystyrene and six grams of real cocaine, so whoever tried to sell the packages could be charged.

When the pair discovered the 35th package upon opening the sculpture, they panicked and soon tried to flee the country.

They were arrested at an Auckland International Airport departure lounge while waiting for a flight to Los Angeles.