Dunedin cocaine plot accused in court

The defendants are charged with conspiring to import a class A drug. Photo / Supplied

One of the men accused of conspiring to import 91kg of cocaine on a container ship has denied the allegation against him.

Carlos Davide Ferreira-Sampaio, 46, of Portugal, appeared before the Dunedin District Court by video link from prison this morning where his counsel John Westgate entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf and elected trial by jury.

Matthew Luke Hodder, 31, of Melbourne, told the court he had struggled to speak with legal representatives in Australia and opted not to enter pleas.

He will appear again later this month to do so.

The defendants are charged with conspiring to import a class A drug on September 17, a charge which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment.

A statement from police at the time of arrest attributed the attempted importation to an “international crime syndicate”.

They said the defendants were arrested attempting to take drugs off a ship docked at Port Chalmers, but the massive cocaine haul had already been seized by US police in August.

The Otago Daily Times understands the vessel was the container ship Spirit of Auckland, which, according to online shipping records, had spent time in Philadelphia and South Carolina, before visiting Panama, Tauranga and Melbourne.

Ferreira-Sampaio will appear in court again in January.