An Australian man involved in the latest "immigration turnaround" at Queenstown Airport at the weekend was refused entry because of his criminal conviction.
The 35-year-old man was on board a flight from Brisbane and arrived in the resort at 3pm on Saturday.
Senior Constable Chris Blackford, of Queenstown, said the man was held in police custody until the next available flight back to Australia, which he boarded.
An Immigration New Zealand spokeswoman said the passenger was refused entry to New Zealand because of a 2006 criminal conviction for which he was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment.
The Immigration Act 2009 prohibits entry to New Zealand for any person convicted of an offence in the preceding 10 years for which the person has been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 12 months or more.
"The man was not known to Immigration New Zealand prior to his attempt to enter New Zealand," the spokeswoman said.
She declined to answer further questions.
It was the latest reported turnaround at the airport since three in a week occurred late last month.
A previous case involved a 29-year-old Australian waitress who was travelling with her partner on a ski holiday.
The woman was sent back to Sydney by the New Zealand Customs Service after being found at the airport with prescription drugs belonging to someone else.
The woman also spent the night in the police station cell before returning to Australia at her own expense.
