Indian origin woman held in New Zealand for sausage smuggling

Accused Maria Benevita Suvira Lobo. Pic/STUFF.CO.NZ

The love of choriz landed a woman of Indian origin, now residing in Porirua, New Zealand, in serious trouble. On Friday, Maria Benevita Suvira Lobo, 59, was fined 200 hours of community service by the Wellington District Court judge Peter Butler for attempting to smuggle three Goa pork sausages into the country. It's an act that The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) claims could have crippled New Zealand's farming industry and economy, and cost it billions of dollars in losses.

Lobo was given the sausages by her Mumbai-based brother, who she visited earlier this year. She allegedly packaged the meat and printed labels that read: 'mixed vege pickle', 'pickled meat vege' and 'stuffed carrot pickle,' and hence, was accused of hiding the real contents.

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MPI, which is responsible for protecting the country's borders, wanted a penalty of $20,000 imposed, but Wellington District Court judge Peter Butler, after recognising that Lobo would be unable pay the hefty fine, sentenced her to 200 hours of community service.

The packet of Goa sausages. Pic/MPI

According to a local media report, Vatau Sagaga, in submission for MPI, said that an outbreak of foot and mouth disease could cost the country billions of dollars and send the economy into recession. Importation of raw meat is considered the most likely route to the disease arriving in NZ, one that is highly contagious and endemic to India, he pointed out. Judge Butler observed that although NZ had never had a foot and mouth outbreak, 'meat was the biggest risk of all' as it would put exports, farming and jobs at risk.

When mid-day contacted Lobo's lawyer Alwyn O'Connor, he said, "India is a country that NZ authorities say is not clean for foot and mouth disease, one that inflicts cows and beef. If it [the disease] gets into the cow, it could kill the whole lot of them and threaten NZ exports."

Defending Lobo, he said she didn't realize the impact her actions could have had on the country's agriculture and farming industry. "Upon her arrival at the airport, she didn't tick the box declaring that she had meat…the authorities then searched her and found it." According to him, the initial fine was as high as $20,000 keeping in mind the risk factor. "It is a reasonably serious outcome. There was no commerciality behind the importing. She wasn't running a spice market or anything of that sort; it was just for personal use."

When asked whether he thought the judgment was fair, he said, "It's probably okay. I think she committed a crime and accepted that she committed a crime, but she never understood the risk it posed to NZ exports and the meat market. NZ takes a very serious stance on such things because of its large export market."

The media report had claimed that when Lobo was asked by a quarantine inspector at Auckland airport why she had done it, she replied: "I wanted to see whether you would catch me. I was trying to smuggle the sausages in because we don't get this kind of sausage in New Zealand."