Auckland (The NZ Today)
A Nepalese man who came to New Zealand as a student and later became involved in a cocaine importation operation has had his prison sentence reduced after the Court of Appeal found he should have received greater recognition for the circumstances that drew him into the offending.
Anurag Maskey, now 27, arrived in New Zealand in 2018 and completed a diploma in information technology.
He struggled to find work in his field and instead took on labouring jobs while also trying to establish his own business.
According to a recently released Court of Appeal decision, Maskey’s financial difficulties left him vulnerable when another Nepalese man began providing him with financial support.
The Court said it was reasonable to view that support as part of a process that ultimately drew Maskey into the drug operation.
Between January and July 2022, Maskey was involved in importing about 1.576 kilograms of cocaine into New Zealand.
The drugs were sent in a series of parcels, largely from the United Kingdom, and concealed inside ordinary commercial items.
Maskey initially played a relatively junior role receiving packages, but the Court found his involvement increased after another person connected to the operation left New Zealand.
By the later stages, he was helping arrange consignments, directing collections, testing cocaine purity and discussing how the drug would be prepared for sale.
Police later searched his Mt Eden home and located 219 grams of cocaine, scales and other material linked to the importation operation.
Maskey pleaded guilty to five cocaine importation charges and was sentenced in the Auckland District Court last year to six years and four months in prison.
He challenged the sentence in the Court of Appeal.
The appeal judges found greater weight should have been given to Maskey’s age, financial vulnerability and the influence exercised over him when he first became involved.
He was around 22 at the time and was described by the Court as an “emerging adult” whose business was struggling and who was seeking financial backing.
The Court did not excuse the seriousness of the offending, particularly as Maskey later took on greater responsibility in the operation, but concluded the original sentence did not sufficiently reflect what it described as the “very human dynamic” behind his entry into the offending.
His sentence has now been reduced to five years and seven months.
Maskey is expected to be deported after completing his prison sentence.
Source: NZ Herald.
