One of the men who conspired to possess an estimated $1.5 billion worth of cocaine was "cannon fodder" for a cartel, a lawyer has said.
The offender, David Edward John Campbell, faced court in Sydney's Downing Centre on Friday.
His lawyer argued Campbell was "a low-level functionary who in effect had been manipulated into that position".
In August 2023, a NSW District Court jury found Campbell, then 55, guilty of conspiracy to possess a border-controlled drug.
However, Campbell and co-offender Tristan Egon Sebastian Waters, who was 39 at the time, were found not guilty of conspiracy to import a border-controlled drug.
Waters had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess the drug.
Rohan Peter Arnold is currently serving a 27-year jail sentence after pleading guilty in May 2019 to the same charge.
The three Canberra-region businessmen conspired to possess an estimated 1.28 tonnes of drugs, which were concealed inside steel posts hidden in a container shipped from China.
They were arrested in Belgrade, Serbia in February 2018 after a nine-and-a-half month Australian Federal Police investigation spanning several countries.
On April 1, 2017, a container concealing the drug hidden in steel posts was seized by police, who communicated to Campbell that it had been lost.
The Crown had alleged that in October that year, an undercover police officer using the alias "Henry" got in contact with Campbell, saying he had possession of the lost container in New Zealand and wanted to work out a "finder's fee".
On Friday, Campbell's lawyer argued his client's "involvement from the get-go was premised on the lies and manipulation of Mr Arnold acting for the syndicate".
He said that when the container went "missing", Campbell was "left in a very vulnerable and dangerous position".
"[Campbell was] considered to be entirely dispensable by those behind the importation," he stated.
"He was in effect cannon fodder sent to the front line for whatever may have been in store in New Zealand."
The defence barrister said Campbell had been under "duress" and had been suspected by a cartel "of being a thief and a rat".
Crown prosecutor Sean Flood argued communications between the men before they were arrested in Serbia were "friendly" and contained "all of the hallmarks of people not under duress".
"They are joking around about what they are watching on TV," Mr Flood said.
The lawyer argued if Campbell was found to be under duress, "he really should've gone to the police".
During the trial, Campbell claimed he and Waters were acting "under pressure" to find the "missing" container and a cartel had made "serious threats".
Giving evidence, he said a cartel in China believed he had stolen the shipping container and they wanted it back.
"It really intensified where there were photographs of my house, my children ... me coming out of work, pictures of bodies wrapped up in black plastic," Campbell said.
"All I know is that they were sending pictures of bodies, of our families and a lot of threats."
Campbell's sentence is set to be handed down in May, while Waters is scheduled to begin sentencing next month.
