Briton's NZ dream in tatters after cocaine gift

A young couple's dream of settling in New Zealand after emigrating from Britain is in tatters after the woman was mailed a birthday present - the class A drug cocaine.

Lynsey Claire Reader, 26, originally from Croydon in south London, is serving a three-month jail sentence imposed in the High Court at Christchurch after the two envelopes containing the drug were intercepted.

She has never been in trouble before. She was described in court as being naive and she certainly misjudged New Zealand's border controls.

Justice Chisholm told her: "Like others who have offended in the same way, you have badly underrated the border control in this country and the determination to keep drugs out."

Reader and her partner arrived in New Zealand on January 10 on two-year work visas. Both got full time work - Reader as an order manager for an Australian company - and they wanted to seek residency as skilled migrants.

"You asked a friend in Britain to send some cocaine to you for your birthday. I doubt it takes me to remind you how foolish that was," said Justice Chisholm.

Crown prosecutor Catherine Butchard said: "Personal circumstances cannot be given much weight when we have this clear direction that imprisonment must be imposed."

On July 3, two envelopes each containing 0.7g of cocaine were intercepted and a search of the couple's flat in the Christchurch suburb of New Brighton revealed a text message telling Reader that the product would be arriving soon.

She pleaded guilty to importing the class A drug.

Defence counsel Gregory Hair said she now faced New Zealand Immigration revoking her visa and being deported when the sentence was complete.

The conviction would create barriers for any further travel beyond Britain.

The probation report prepared for the sentencing suggested a substantial fine, and Mr Hair said money could be made available from Britain to pay that.

Justice Chisholm said he accepted that apart from being thoroughly stupid, the request to send the drugs was largely spontaneous. They were for her personal use.

"At a personal level, it isn't difficult to feel considerable sympathy with you, especially as a parent.

"But you will understand that as a judge my responsibilities go much further than that."

He jailed Reader for three months, allowed leave to apply for home detention, but declined to defer the start of the prison term to allow her make the application to serve the time at home.

- NZPA