A first offender drug dealer has paid a significantly high price for his crimes having been sentenced to 4 years and 2 months jail.

Samuel James Clement, 26 from Christchurch, has been jailed for trying to smuggle more than 2 kilograms of MDMA (Ecstasy) and 2 kilos of the horse tranquiliser, ketamine, into New Zealand.

The ketamine smuggling failed in 2020 thanks to the work of Belgium Customs officers who intercepted it hidden within a packet of protein supplement.

NZ Customs officers caught the smuggled ecstasy shipment, again two years ago, when it arrived at the Auckland International Mail Centre from Belgium. The drug was hidden inside hot/cold gel packs.

National Drug Intelligence Bureau estimates say the ketamine could have been worth up to $800,000 on the street.

The MDMA ecstasy had an estimated street value of around $460,000.

Investigations also found Clement was involved in what the court said was significant drug dealing involving ketamine, ecstasy, cocaine and cannabis.

Once again, Customs work with an international border enforcement partner and their combined investigations skills have ensured the price for this offender is significant jail time and more than a million dollars' worth of attempted drug dealing has been stopped.