Karl Pettitt, 40, originally from Gainsborough, was handed the lengthy prison sentence after admitting importing millions of pounds worth of the Class A drug at Blackfriars Crown Court last April.
Pettitt, then living in Madrid with his Brazilian partner and children, was caught out after Spanish police linked his telephone number to top Columbian drug dealers.
They passed the number to British police who were then able to link Pettitt to massive seizures of drugs in London in 2003.
First, police staking out a house in Croydon witnessed a violent robbery in which three men, two of them armed, stole almost 80 kilograms of cocaine.
In intercepted telephone conversations, Pettitt was heard bemoaning his loss.
Just two-and-a-half months later, in August 2003, police observed the handing over of a consignment of cocaine at a hotel in Bexley, South East London.
When tested, scientists were able to link the drugs to those recovered following the earlier robbery.
In total, just over 90 kilos of 100 per cent pure cocaine were seized during the two operations, drugs with a street value of up to £12 million.
Pettitt was arrested in September 2003 in Madrid. With him, he had a list of names of numerous dealers in the UK and the amounts that each owed him for drugs.
He absconded and was not caught again until 2006 when police found him hiding out in Barcelona with his partner and two young children.
Pettitt did not plead guilty until March of last year and not before he had already taken up a considerable amount of court time with arguments about the case.
Today, his barrister, Mark Milliken-Smith QC, argued that the 22-year sentence was too long and that insufficient credit had been given for his guilty plea.
But, dismissing the sentence appeal and his challenge to a 12-year ban on him leaving the UK after his release, Judge Michael Baker QC highlighted Pettitt's close relationship with those at the very top of the international drugs trade.
"He has played a major part in an extremely large importation," he said.
"He was plainly closely linked with major figures in the international drug trafficking scene.
He added: "We consider the sentence of 22 years is well within the permissible range for a person of his high seniority in the hierarchy of drug importation organisation."
"In our judgment, the sentence was not an excessive one."