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An Australian woman has had two years cut from a jail sentence for her role in a cocaine-importing scheme which also saw two brothers jailed.
Marie-Astrid Cristia, 44, was sentenced last September to eight years' jail for importing cocaine into New Zealand, with a concurrent five years for attempting to export the drug.
The Court of Appeal quashed the sentences after deciding she deserved a greater deduction because of her lesser involvement in the scheme, her personal circumstances and the effect of her lengthy period on bail.
It reimposed an effective sentence of six years.
Her de facto husband Dario Alexander Seguel and his brother Sergio Ivan Seguel were each jailed for seven years after they pleaded guilty to the charges and were given a discount for their guilty pleas.
Cristia was arrested at Auckland International Airport on February 15 last year with the pair after they were found with 500g of high-purity cocaine, liquefied into three bottles of perfume.
The Crown said the drugs, worth $300,000, were obtained in Chile and were to be taken to Sydney.
- NZPA
