SA Man's Sentence Increased in $20M Cocaine Importation Case

Tereapii Pokoina, a South Australian landscaper involved in a major cocaine importation from Greece, has had his jail sentence extended by two years following an appeal.

Pokoina was initially sentenced in February 2024 to six years imprisonment with a three-year non-parole period for his role in the $20 million drug operation uncovered as part of Operation Ironside. However, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions successfully appealed the sentence, arguing it was "manifestly inadequate."

The cocaine, hidden inside welders shipped from Greece, was intercepted by law enforcement in August 2020. Pokoina admitted to arranging the shipment, covering customs clearance costs, and using his employer's address for delivery. He pleaded guilty to importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.

While Judge Rauf Soulio acknowledged Pokoina's lower-level involvement in the drug operation, he emphasized the crucial nature of his actions in facilitating the importation. The Court of Appeal, consisting of Justices David Lovell, Sam Doyle, and Laura Stein, upheld this assessment.

The Court of Appeal subsequently sentenced Pokoina to eight years and ten months in prison, with a non-parole period of four and ten months. The judges stressed the “significant scale” of the drug importation and the substantial financial gain Pokoina expected to receive. The revised sentence is backdated to February 26.

Source: The Advertiser