French citizen Costa Le Coube avoided a conviction for stealing cigarettes from Queenstown Airport while working there as a cleaner.



Frenchman Costa Le Coubet has only good things to say about his time in New Zealand – in spite of a night in jail and a prosecution for theft.

He told the Christchurch District Court the police who arrested him for stealing cigarettes from a Queenstown Airport amnesty bin were "kind and understanding".

Defence counsel Claire Hislop said 22-year-old Le Coubet told her: "Despite the hardship, he says he has had nothing but a pleasant experience with the New Zealand public and he wishes to convey that."

Le Coubet stole about 10 packets of cigarettes from the amnesty bin where incoming passengers would leave them at Queenstown International Airport. He had been employed there as a cleaner.

He pleaded guilty in June to four theft charges.

The cigarettes were worth about $200, but police declined the diversion scheme, which allows first offenders on minor charges to escape convictions. Police said he had abused a position of trust which allowed him to steal in a secure area of the airport.

Judge Gary MacAskill granted Le Coubet a discharge without conviction when he appeared for sentencing on Monday.

Hislop said that because of his arrest, Le Coubet had been unable to leave New Zealand on a holiday to Thailand and had lost the $1200 in air fares.

The convictions would affect his prospects for further study for his masters degree in tourism in France, his job prospects and would inconvenience him for future travel.

She said there had been no financial cost to anyone involved in the theft of the cigarettes because they were going to be destroyed.

Judge MacAskill accepted the difficulties the convictions would pose for Le Coubet were out of proportion to the seriousness of the offending.

Since his guilty pleas, Le Coubet spent three months in New Zealand, living off his savings and the generosity of others.

Hislop said his passport and visa had been taken from him. He worked a few shifts and had done other work in return for board.

He had done more than 40 hours of voluntary work for the Salvation Army.

Judge MacAskill granted the discharge without conviction.

