A Portuguese middle man will be deported for his involvement in a “major conspiracy” to import $27 million dollars of cocaine that ended in Dunedin.

Carlos Ferreria-Sampaio was sentenced to five years and two months’ jail for his involvement in the large-scale international plot, but became eligible for parole on June 9, having spent 598 days on remand.

His release date was set for November 18, 2027, but the Parole Board has decided he will be released and returned to his country of origin on September 2 this year.

“Mr Ferreria-Sampaio was a significant participant in a major conspiracy that appears to have been formed in Portugal to import cocaine into Australia and New Zealand. At the behest of the people who were higher up in the organisation, he travelled to Australia to recover the drugs from a specified part of the ship that was bringing the drugs into the South Pacific,” panel convener Neville Trendle said.

“That part of the operation failed and he came to New Zealand to direct a second attempt at the recovery of the cocaine. The police in New Zealand became aware of the conspiracy and Mr Ferreria-Sampaio’s role, and he was duly apprehended along with a co-offender.”

Trendle said the Parole Board had explored matters relating to risk, and was satisfied a release on parole and deportation would not impugn the safety of the community in New Zealand.

“The authorities in Portugal and Spain are aware of his circumstances and will be in a position to adequately address any safety concerns upon his return to the community there. So far as the board is concerned, he has strong support, a place to return to and employment opportunities.”

A special condition upon Ferreria-Sampaio’s release from prison is that he not return to New Zealand.

Ferreria-Sampaio’s co-defendant, Australian stripper Matthew Hodder, also known as Matty Thunder, was sentenced to four years and two months’ jail last year.

The pair were arrested in Dunedin after a failed attempt to retrieve two duffel bags containing 91kg of cocaine from a container ship, Spirt of Auckland.

Unbeknownst to the pair, authorities had already seized the cocaine, which was hidden in an intake grate under the vessel, during transit through Philadelphia.

When the ship was docked in Melbourne, the pair carried out reconnaissance and tested diving equipment, but were spooked by Australian authorities and decided to try again when the ship was docked in Dunedin.

In September, they attempted to retrieve the cocaine, while unknowingly under the surveillance of police, who arrested them upon their empty-handed return to Dunedin’s CBD.

Hodder was declined parole by the board in April, and will appear before the board again next year.

Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald based in Dunedin.