Tereapii Pokoina has been resentenced for two extra years of jail time for his role in importing $20 million of cocaine from Greece.

The Adelaide landscaper was sentenced for six years in jail this past February for his “essential” role in the August 2020 importation of cocaine, which was uncovered as part of Operation Ironside.

Pokoina’s sentence in relation to his involvement in importing the cocaine, which was secreted inside two welders shipped from Greece, was deemed “manifestly inadequate”.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions appealed Judge Rauf Soulio’s February sentence, which stipulated six years of jail time with a non-parole period of three years.

The District Court heard the shipment was worth an estimated $5m if sold wholesale or up to $20m if sold in street deals.

Judge Soulio stated Pokoina had used his then employer’s address and arranged a bank transfer of just over $8000 to the overseas shipper, having also paid for customs clearances in Australia to collect the package.

“The consignment was instead seized by law enforcement authorities,” Judge Soulio said.

Pokoina pleaded guilty to importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.

Judge Soulio acknowledged that the landscaper was at the lower level of the hierarchy but had nonetheless played an instrumental role in the importation of it to Australia.

He added that Pokoina had been in a “vulnerable state” when he became embroiled in the offending through a “friend” who introduced him to cocaine.

“You said that in hindsight you should have refused to take part in the importation but in the back of your mind you thought that you were going to be cut off from your supply of cocaine … you loved that drug so much,” Judge Soulio said.

He said a psychologist found Pokoina had a level of “naivety” which made him an “easier target for manipulation”.

The court heard Pokoina expected to receive up to 28g of cocaine for self-use and cash totalling less than $40,000 had the importation been successful.

The Court of Appeal, comprising Justices David Lovell, Sam Doyle and Laura Stein, agreed the sentence was manifestly inadequate and resentenced Pokoina to eight years and 10 months jail, with a non-parole period of four years and 10 months.

They said given the very significant scale of the importation and the reward Pokoina stood to make for his essential involvement, the sentence imposed did not reflect the gravity of the offending or achieve the level of general deterrence required.

The sentence was backdated to February 26.