Carlos David Ferreira-Sampaio, 47, a former Portuguese Armed Forces paratrooper, appeared in the High Court in Dunedin this morning after pleading guilty to attempting to take possession of the Class A drug for the purpose of supply.
His defense counsel Harrison Smith said a gambling debt and a “significant period of threats and pressure” led to his client's involvement in the crime.
Ferreira-Sampaio's co-accused, 33-year-old Melbourne stripper Matthew Hodder, was given a prison sentence of four years and two months for his role in the scheme and was dismissed at his first hearing before the board last month.
The duo were arrested in Port Otago on September 17, 2022, capping a six-week saga in which they attempted to recover the 91kg quantity of cocaine.
On August 3 of that year, the 254-meter container ship departed Spirit of Auckland docked in Philadelphia when authorities seized two duffel bags containing the narcotics stashed behind an intake grate beneath the ship.
By the time the ship docked in Melbourne four weeks later, Ferreira-Sampaio had flown in from Portugal, thinking the drugs were still on board, and recruited Hodder.
“Ferreira-Sampaio acted as an intermediary for the overseas importers and oversaw the operation,” a Crown summary said.
The duo tested equipment, including an underwater scooter, and conducted explorations Spirit of Auckland.
But when authorities questioned them about their activities, they abandoned their plans.
On September 13, the men, sitting separately, flew to Queenstown and rented a red Toyota Highlander which they drove to Dunedin.
After renting a motel, they spent $4,000 and then drove to Careys Bay to explore the ship's berth.
When they returned to their hotel for the night, police bugged their car.
The next day at 3:13 am the men returned to collect the drugs.
Ferreira-Sampaio used a radio to notify Hodder of the ship's progress and when it docked, the Australian national made numerous dives along the ship's starboard side.
Unable to locate the bags, Ferreira-Sampaio called the people abroad who were pulling the strings.
The defendants discussed a second dive but decided to return to town for breakfast where they were arrested.
Mr Smith said Ferreira-Sampaio had previously left the army in his home country and thought he could manage his mental health with a “relatively peaceful” life, running restaurants in Portugal and Spain and raising his daughters.
But when the business closed during the Covid-19 pandemic, he turned to alcohol and gambling, becoming embroiled in the criminal underworld through his debts.
Judge Jonathan Eaton accepted that Ferreira-Sampaio had a PTSD diagnosis after representing NATO in Bosnia, Kosovo and East Timor and witnessing “many atrocities”.
Letters from his family to the court describe him as “hardworking and caring”.
Hodder, who went by the stage names “Matty Thunder” and “DIY Dave”, recently told the Parole Board that he became involved in the plot because his business was struggling.
He claimed he was offered $50,000 for the job and believed he was only needed for “safety” on a boat.