The Supreme Court has denied a request from Aiden Alec Hurtado, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison in June 2017 for bringing 20.5 kilograms of cocaine into Fiji, to appeal his sentence. Hurtado’s previous appeal to the Court of Appeal challenging his conviction was rejected in a ruling made in 2022.
Justice William Young commented on Hurtado’s claim that the cocaine was secretly placed in the supplement bottles he had with him, stating that this assertion lacked merit. He noted that it does not matter whether the bag was checked through Sydney or Nadi, as the theory implies that someone deliberately selected his bag for this illegal act.
Justice Young pointed out that if the selection was random, it would be a mere coincidence that the perpetrator had exactly the right amount of cocaine to fill the four containers found in the bag. Conversely, if the act was intentional, it raises questions about how the individual could know about the contents of the bag in advance.
Additionally, the evidence presented by Hurtado did not clarify how this unknown person or their associates planned to retrieve the cocaine. The Justice highlighted that Hurtado’s behavior showed an awareness of guilt, as he attempted to evade capture after learning his bag would be inspected, and his subsequent claims appeared implausible.