Carlos David Ferreira-Sampaio, 47, a former Portuguese armed forces paratrooper, appeared in the High Court at Dunedin this morning after pleading guilty to attempting to take possession of the class-A drug for the purpose of supply.
His 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-defendant, 33-year-old Melbourne stripper Matthew Hodder, was jailed for four years two months for his role in the scheme and was last month declined parole at his first hearing before the board.
The duo were arrested at Port Otago on September 17, 2022, the conclusion of a six-week saga as they tried to retrieve the 91kg haul of cocaine.
On August 3 that year, the 254m container ship Spirit of Auckland docked in Philadelphia when authorities seized two duffel bags containing the narcotics stashed behind an intake grate under the vessel.
By the time the ship docked in Melbourne four weeks later, Ferreira-Sampaio had flown in from Portugal, thinking the drugs were still aboard, and recruited Hodder.
"Ferreira-Sampaio acted as the intermediary for the overseas importers, overseeing the operation," a Crown summary said.
The duo tested equipment, including an underwater scooter, and carried out reconnaissance on Spirit of Auckland.
But when authorities questioned them about their activities, they abandoned their plans.
On September 13, the men flew to Queenstown, sitting separately, and hired a red Toyota Highlander which they drove to Dunedin.
After renting a motel, they spent $4000 then drove out to Careys Bay to scope out the shipping berth.
When they returned to their hotel for the night, police bugged their car.
At 3.13am the following day, the men returned to claim the drugs.
Ferreira-Sampaio used a radio to inform Hodder of the ships progress and when it docked, the Australian national made numerous dives along the starboard side of the vessel.
Unable to locate the bags, Ferreira-Sampaio called those overseas who were pulling the strings.
The defendants discussed a second dive but decided to return to the city for breakfast where they were arrested.
Mr Smith said Ferreira-Sampaio had earlier left the military in his homeland and thought he could manage his mental health with a "comparatively peaceful" life, running restaurants in Portugal and Spain and parenting his daughters.
But when the business closed during the Covid-19 pandemic, he turned to alcohol and gambling, debts from which saw him become entwined with the criminal underworld.
Justice Jonathan Eaton accepted Ferreira-Sampaio had a PTSD diagnosis after representing NATO in Bosnia, Kosovo and East Timor, witnessing "many atrocities".
Letters to the court from his family described him as "hard-working and caring".
Hodder, who went by the stage names "Matty Thunder" and "DIY Dave", told the Parole Board recently that he became involved with the plot because his business was struggling.
He claimed he was offered $50,000 for the job and believed he was only needed for "security" on a boat.
