Colombian Felipe Montoya-Ospina was one of several people in the syndicate convicted. Photo: UnSplash/ Matthew Ansley

The Court of Appeal has upheld the 14-year jail-term handed to a cocaine dealer for his part in a conspiracy to bring more than 100 kilograms of cocaine into New Zealand.

Colombian Felipe Montoya-Ospina was last year sentenced to 14 years and 7 months jail for importing, extracting and distributing cocaine.

Montoya-Ospina successfully imported seven packages of cocaine, which weighed 11.4 kilograms. He attempted to import a further five packages weighing 28.87 kilograms.

He was one of several people in the syndicate convicted.

Montoya-Ospina was described as a senior member of the group of Colombian and Argentinian nationals who were employed as dairy farmhands in rural Canterbury, and imported in wholesale quantities of cocaine, sourced from a cartel in Colombia.

It was estimated the syndicate imported 42.5 kilograms of cocaine, with a street price of over $19 million, and a further 59.1 kilograms of cocaine, with a street value of more than 26 million, was intercepted.

Montoya-Ospina appealed his sentence, arguing the judge's starting point of 18 years' jail was too high and the credit for his guilty plea was inadequate.

His lawyer argued cocaine offending should be sentenced more leniently than methamphetamine offending, and the 18-year starting point was too high even for methamphetamine importation.

They referred to four cases to support their claim, but the Court of Appeal said the comparison was too narrow.

In its decision, the Court of Appeal said: "the operation in this case involved approximately 100 kilograms of cocaine".

"It was of a much bigger scale than any of the other cases relied upon by the appellant. As the sentencing Judge found, the appellant was involved in every stage of the offending and knowingly participated in an ongoing commercial drug importation operation which extended over a four-year period."

Montoya-Ospina's guilty plea came two years after his arrest, and a month before his trial was due to begin, the court said.

The adjustment to his sentence based on his guilty plea was consistent with Montoya-Ospina's co-defendants, who pleaded guilty around the same time, the court said.

The Court of Appeal found there was no error in the sentencing judge's approach and the end sentence was not manifestly excessive.

It dismissed his appeal.

-RNZ