A judge has taken pity on a man involved in a $1 million cocaine ring, heavily reducing his prison sentence and calling his part in the operation "misguided loyalty".
Wanaka builder Cameron Lockie had earlier pleaded guilty to supplying a Class A drug.
He wept in the High Court at Christchurch on Wednesday as Justice Whata sentenced him to two years and one month in prison.
Lockie believed he was moving nearly 3kg of cocaine for a friend in December 2011.
However, most of the drug was seized as it entered New Zealand and secretly replaced with a fake white powder as part of a police operation.
Justice Whata said Lockie did not stand to gain financially and was involved only because of a misguided loyalty to a friend, his boss at the Earthquake Commission.
Others in the drug ring, including Lockie's friend, have already been given significantly longer prison sentences.
Lockie's sentence was reduced from a starting point of six years in prison to just over two years because of his remorse, his low risk of reoffending and his guilty plea.
