A scheme to import more than 300 kilograms of cocaine hidden in the arm of an excavator has landed a landscaper from Bungendore near Canberra with a jail term of more than 12 years.

Adam Hunter, 35, pleaded guilty to attempting to import the drugs in 2019, when 384 packages of cocaine were found in the machine, weighing 332.1 kilograms, with an 83.1 per cent purity.

The court heard Hunter was in a dire financial position at the time, unable to pay his bills, or even make basic provisions for his family.

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