Dual Ecuadorian-Canadian national Walter Alcivar was sentenced on Friday to a non-parole jail term of three years after pleading guilty to drug importation.
The 45-year-old aroused suspicion when walking through the international arrivals hall at Sydney Airport in September 2024 when Australian Border Force officers noticed he was carrying extra weight in an unusual location.
"(Officers) noticed a large anomaly in his groin area ... the large anomaly was discovered to be a plastic wrapped package," Judge Philip Hogan told Sydney's Downing Centre District Court.
The 5.4 kilogram package was found to contain 2.5kg of pure cocaine.Â
Alcivar was arrested and charged with importing a commercial quantity of the drug.
Judge Hogan found he had been a drug courier for a group of criminals in Ecuador who had threatened him to ensure he carried out the plan.
Alcivar secured the package to his groin using a beige strap and electrical tape, the agreed facts state.
"So it doesn't fall," he told border force officials via a Spanish interpreter after being caught.
When asked what the package was, he replied: "I don't know because it is not mine."
While the 43-year-old knew what he was doing, the shoddy nature of how he carried his "package" reduced the seriousness of the offence, the judge said.
"His position exposed him to detection ... (his) attempted disguise was woefully inadequate for the task," Judge Hogan said.
"(The crime) could hardly be one viewed as involving careful planning and sophistication."
Judge Hogan said the lives of Alcivar and his family had been threatened in texts sent about a month before he arrived in Australia and days after taking out a loan.
The person making the threats used a Mexican number.
"Stop your family from dying," the person wrote.
"Don't come stealing from me."
The court heard Alcivar was a target for criminal gangs in Ecuador due to having suffered a stroke in March 2024 that left him with permanent disabilities.
His mental deficiencies coupled with a previous prison sentence for drug importation in Canada made him a ripe target for those at the top of the scheme, his lawyer submitted.
However, the judge was satisfied only a period of full-time imprisonment was justified for the serious offence.
"Illegal drugs cause havoc in the Australian community ... the illicit trade gives rise to other forms of criminal conduct," Judge Hogan said.
Alcivar will be eligible for parole in September 2027.
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