SUVA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Former Australian horse trainer John Nikolic was sentenced on Friday to 23 years in jail for importing cocaine into Fiji on his luxury yacht.
High court Judge Justice Daniel Gounder said on Friday that cocaine and methamphetamine are dangerous illicit drugs and the harm that these drugs cause to the physical and mental health of users and to the safety and well-being of the community is significant, according to Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC).
The arms and ammunition and the substantial foreign cash found together with the illicit drugs showed that Nikolic was in a business of dealing with drugs, he said, adding that illegal drug dealing is a lucrative business and those who are in this business have no regard to harm it causes.
Nikolic and his wife Yvette were arrested after Fijian authorities discovered more than 20 million Fijian dollars (about 9.3 million U.S. dollars) worth of drugs, along with two guns, on their vessel, Shenanigans, as it arrived in Port Denarau, Nadi, Fiji's third largest city in June last year.
While Yvette was acquitted on all charges, Nikolic was last week found guilty of drug importation, possession, and failure to declare arms and ammunitions to a customs officer in Fiji following a trial at the High Court in Suva.
He was found guilty of two counts each of importing an illicit drug with two alternative counts of possessing an illicit drug and also with possessing arms and ammunition without holding an arms license.
Goundar on Friday handed down a sentence of 23 years' jail with no parole for 18 years.
