A South African grandmother was jailed for nearly eight and a half years on Tuesday after being caught trying to smuggle cocaine hidden in garden gnomes into New Zealand.
Linda Martin (52) was sentenced in the Auckland High Court, after being caught with more than three kilograms of cocaine at Auckland Airport two years ago, Radio New Zealand reported.
The cocaine was found hidden in four garden gnomes in Martin’s suitcase after she entered the country on a false passport.
Martin had said she had been duped by a Nigerian drug gang. But Justice John Priestly said while Martin was naive, she still knew she was dealing with drug traffickers.
He said he had taken into account her cooperation with customs and police, her health problems, and her lack of previous convictions. She was found guilty by a jury after a week-long trial in February.
At her trial in February, Martin claimed her family was being threatened by a Nigerian drug lord called Peter, who wanted her daughter Lindy to work for him.
Defence laywer Barry Hart said Martin was not a sophisticated woman and it had been suggested she was smuggling the drugs for a ”paltry” $450.
He said Martin never knew what was in the suitcase and had never been on an aeroplane before. – Sapa-AFP