Hamish McNeilly/Stuff
Carlos Davide Ferreira-Sampaio, 45, of Portugal, and Matthew Luke Hodder, 31, of Melbourne, Australia are jointly charged with conspiring to import cocaine into New Zealand.
One of two men accused of diving to retrieve cocaine from a ship berthed in Dunedin has denied conspiring to import the class A drug.
Carlos Davide Ferreira-Sampaio, 45, of Portugal, and Matthew Luke Hodder, 31, of Melbourne, Australia, each face a maximum sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment.
The pair, who are jointly charged with conspiring to import a class A drug, appeared via audiovisual link before Judge Emma Smith in the Dunedin District Court on Friday.
They were arrested after allegedly smuggling cocaine into New Zealand, via a vessel berthed at Port Otago.
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Ferreria-Sampaio, via his lawyer, entered a plea of not guilty, and elected a trial by jury.
Hodder, who did not have a lawyer in court, indicated he was not in a position to enter a plea.
The arrests followed an investigation into an international crime syndicate allegedly involved in smuggling drugs into New Zealand.
It is understood the cocaine had been in a compartment welded onto the hull of a vessel.
Hodder was remanded in custody to reappear on November 17, while Ferreria-Sampaio was remanded in custody to reappear on January 20.
