Timothy Engstrom sentenced in NSW District Court after cocaine found in excavator

The man played the "pivotal role" of cutting into the drug-stuffed digger, which took about two-and-a-half hours, a judge has said.

Timothy John Engstrom, 38, was sentenced in the NSW District Court on Friday to 11-and-a-half years in jail, with a non-parole period of seven-and-a-half years.

Engstrom, who co-owned Bungendore Landscape Supplies, stood trial late last year after pleading not guilty to a charge of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported drug.

A jury found the man guilty after less than three hours of deliberations in December 2022.

Engstrom had been arrested in July 2019, when heavily armed police busted him using an angle grinder to cut a hole in an excavator that contained about 276kg of pure cocaine upon its importation from South Africa.

Engstrom was doing this at the request of his best friend and business partner, Adam Phillip Hunter, who had arranged to bring the drug-filled digger to Australia for a mysterious criminal dubbed "coffee man".

Upon the machine's arrival at the border, authorities discovered 384 plastic-wrapped blocks of cocaine concealed in the arm of the excavator.

Police swapped the cocaine out for an "inert substance" before installing a surveillance device on the excavator and sending it to the Bungendore business, inside which officers also placed hidden cameras, in July 2019.

While Hunter, 37, pleaded guilty and received a jail sentence of 12 years and nine months, Engstrom denied criminal responsibility.

Engstrom claimed he did not know what was hidden inside the excavator, saying his job was simply to cut open the machine for Hunter and have a cup of tea while the latter removed something from within.

On Friday, Judge Gina O'Rourke SC found Engstrom was "not simply reckless" and knew the substance hidden inside the excavator was a border-controlled drug.

Judge O'Rourke said Engstrom knew what was inside the machine was illegal due to his "close and long-term friendship" with Hunter, his actions in arranging scaffolding, an angle grinder and other items to cut into the excavator, diagrams on his phone and "his reaction when he gained access".

The latter was a reference to Engstrom and Hunter exchanging a fist bump.

She said Engstrom also knew that two other people had "declined the job opportunity to assist in extracting what was inside that boom arm".

Engstrom had also discussed a contingency plan if "it all turns to shit" and helped Hunter unpack the substituted cocaine bricks, providing 11 large black tubs to place them into.

Judge O'Rourke said Engstrom had become involved due to "misguided loyalty" to Hunter and the business being in "dire straits" financially.

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She stated Engstrom's only previous experience with cocaine was using it at Christmas parties and celebrations when he was aged in his 20s.

While the judge found Engstrom had "performed the lesser role in the overall criminal enterprise than [Hunter]", there was no evidence of remorse or contrition.

Engstrom had "repeatedly proclaimed his innocence" to the author of a pre-sentence report and said he had been "wrongfully convicted", Judge O'Rourke said.

Judge O'Rourke said Engstrom had told the report's author he was unaware of the importation of any illicit substances and "claimed no knowledge of the criminal activity that took place".

With the sentence backdated to take into account time already served while on remand, Engstrom will be eligible for release in January 2030.

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