Twenty-five-year old Peter Gardner may face the death penalty if convicted of smuggling methamphetamine in China.
Appearing at a Chinese court trial on Thursday, Gardner testified that he was unaware of the contents of the packages. He said he thought they were muscle-building supplements and was surprised that they contained "ice."
The trial was broadcast live through the court's website, but Gardner's testimony was almost inaudible. A Chinese interpretation of his testimony could be heard.
Two videos were shown during the trial. The first was a security video from the Hilton Hotel in Guangzhou. Gardner could be seen meeting with two men in the hotel lobby. After appearing to have exchanged identities, the two men handed him two duffel bags.
The second was from Chinese customs. It showed officials at Guangzhou airport opening the bags and taking out more than 50 plastic bags that contained white powder, The New Zealand Herald reports.
Gardner is being charged with smuggling more than 30 kilograms of methamphetamine. He testified that he did not know the bags contained illegal drugs because he did not look inside the packages of what he thought were steroids. "I didn't check the parcel after I got the delivery," he said, according to ABC News.
He admitted some wrongdoing but maintained he was not smuggling ice. He pleaded not guilty but offered to help identify the Chinese suspects he had transactions with. "I'm really sorry, I really regret it... I have broken the law and there's no getting out of it," he said, news.com.au reports.
Hua Chunying, spokeswoman from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, commented that Gardner's case will be handled fairly based on the law. "And we will be very cautious about using the death penalty," she said, according to ABC News.
Gardner has been detained in China since November last year. He was taken into custody together with his traveling companion, Kalynda Davis, who was released in December.
