Four men facing a raft of charges stemming from a $20m cocaine bust will defend the allegations at a jury trial.
Matthew Scott, 44, Mario Habulin, 45, Benjamin Northway, 35, and Deni Cavallo, 46, were all arrested after the 46kg of cocaine was seized last month.
Police allege the drugs had been stored in a hidden compartment on the exterior hull of the container ship Maersk Antares, which arrived at the Port of Tauranga from Chile on October 31.
The four men, who appeared in the Tauranga District Court today via an audio-visual link from prison, have denied a total of 44 charges, mainly relating to the importation of cocaine into New Zealand and possessing the drug for supply.
Scott pleaded not guilty to a total of 14 charges, Habulin to 17 charges, Northway to eight offences, and Cavallo has denied five charges.