An American drug smuggler busted in Christchurch has been jailed for more than six years

Jamie Mendez was caught hiding 2.5 kilos of almost pure cocaine inside five puffer jackets at Christchurch International Airport last September.

In Christchurch District Court today the 44-year-old was jailed for six years and nine months - after earlier pleading guilty.

Defence lawyer Pip Hall QC has told the court the woman was a vulnerable person and had been pressured into it.

She says Mendez had been sent a graphic video of a murder - and told it was a family member.

But Judge Stephen O'Driscoll says she'd previously been jailed in France for a similar crime - and he considered it an aggravating factor.