N.Z. man guilty on U.S. charges

Press, 13 April 1984, Page 23

N.Z. man guilty on U.S. charges

NZPA staff correspondent Washington A New Zealander, Calum lan Innes, aged 29, has pleaded guilty in Los Angeles to importing cocaine into the United States and now faces a sentence of up to 15 years in jail and a fine of up to SUS3O,OOO. Judge Manuel Real will sentence Innes on April 30, a Federal Assistant District Attorney Daniel Gonzales has told told NZPA.

Peru who flew the drug back to California. That would have netted the ring about $700,000, said Mr Gonzales and the cocaine’s street value would have been far more. A second shipment came unstuck when undercover agents infiltrated the ring and the Peruvian police opened fire at a remote Peruvian airstrip in December, 1982. Innes escaped, but his fellow conspirators were sentenced to jail terms of up to 12 years.

Other charges would be dropped then if Innes maintains his plea of guilty, Mr Gonzales said.

The Los Angeles police alerted forces world-wide to watch for Innes, but found him in a Los Angeles suburb about two months ago. He fled then but was found hiding in bushes by a police dog.

Innes, who was born in Rotorua, was charged over a deal in September, 1982, when he delivered 13.6 kg of cocaine to conspirators in