Grandpa guilty, not gullible over heroin import plot

A grandad was offered millions to bring him to Australia but his claim he was unaware his folding camping bed contained illegal drugs has been rejected by a jury.

Barry James Calverley was stopped by border force officials at Sydney International Airport while flying from Laos via Vietnam on January 24, 2024.

He was carrying a green bag containing a mosquito net camp bed with 48 packets of heroin hidden inside a metal frame.

The 70-year-old man was found guilty by a NSW District Court jury on Wednesday of importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.

Jurors returned the verdict after deliberating for just over eight hours.

At the hearing they were told Calverley had been offered $10 million to bring the camp bed from Laos to Australia.

Federal prosecutor Sheridan Goodwin told the jury the total weight of pure heroin on the bed was around 2.5 kilograms.

In late 2023, Calverley received an email stating that a payment of more than $14 million was waiting for him.

This amount was reduced to $10 million after he was instructed to collect some documents from Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and return with a “gift” to a so-called “paymaster general” in Sydney.

He claimed he thought the money offered was compensation after being deprived of $260,000 in 2022.

The sentencing hearing will be held on April 22.