No plea from pair arrested in Dunedin cocaine bust

An aerial view of Port Chalmers. Photo / ODT

Two foreign nationals accused of a conspiracy to import 91kg of cocaine into the country on a container ship have been remanded in custody until October 13.

Carlos Davide Ferreira-Sampaio, 45, of Portugal, and Matthew Luke Hodder, 31, of Melbourne appeared before the Dunedin District Court this morning where both entered no plea or application for bail.

Both were remanded in custody until October 13, as sought by Crown prosecutor Richard Smith.

Defence counsel for Hodder said he was awaiting full disclosure from the prosecution.

Judge Michael Turner said pleas would be expected on the defendants' next court date.

Both defendants have been charged with conspiring to deal a class A drug.

In a statement this week, police attributed the attempted importation to an "international crime syndicate".

They said the defendants were arrested on Saturday allegedly attempting to take drugs off a ship docked at Port Chalmers.

The massive cocaine haul, however, had earlier been seized by US police in August.

The Otago Daily Times understands the vessel was 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.

At 6.36am on Saturday it docked at Port Chalmers for a 16-hour stay.

The charge of conspiring to import a class-A drug carries a maximum penalty of 14 years' imprisonment.

Detective Inspector Albie Alexander said the investigation - dubbed Operation Port - illustrated the co-operation and strong partnerships police had with their international partners in targeting criminal activity.

Police did not rule out further arrests.