Tereapii Pokoina, a landscaper involved in the importation of $20 million worth of cocaine from Greece as part of Operation Ironside, has had his sentence increased by two years.
Originally sentenced in February 2024 to six years with a three-year non-parole period, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions appealed, arguing the sentence was “manifestly inadequate.”
The cocaine, concealed inside welders shipped from Greece, was seized by law enforcement in August 2020.
Pokoina, who arranged the shipment, paid for customs clearances, and used his employer’s address for the delivery, pleaded guilty to importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
Judge Rauf Soulio noted that although Pokoina was at a lower level in the drug operation, his actions were crucial to the importation’s success.
The Court of Appeal, comprising Justices David Lovell, Sam Doyle and Laura Stein, agreed. They resentenced Pokoina to eight years and 10 months, with a non-parole period of four years and 10 months.
The court highlighted the “significant scale” of the importation and the large reward Pokoina stood to gain. The sentence was backdated to February 26.
Source: The Advertiser.
