Sydney man accused of picking up drugs from livestock carrier off WA claims he was trying ‘to save friend’
A Sydney man accused of taking part in a sophisticated multimillion-dollar cocaine smuggling operation using a live export boat off the coast of Western Australia claims he only came to Perth to rescue a friend who was “stranded” in a regional town.
Police allege the 19-year-old man, whose identity has been withheld, and his co-defendants were tasked with collecting half a tonne of cocaine thrown overboard by an animal carrier in November.
During his bail application in the Supreme Court of Western Australia last week, the court was told his flights and accommodation were paid for when he and another man picked up a Ford Ranger from Perth Airport and drove to Two Rocks, north of Perth, to pick up a boat.
The cocaine blocks were allegedly dumped off the coast by a Brazilian live export ship bound for the port of Fremantle and kept afloat using barrels and containers fitted with GPS to track the movements of the product.
The court was told the man and his co-defendants went out to sea on a borrowed boat several times and CCTV footage allegedly captured them loading three bags matching the description of cocaine left at sea onto the back tray of the rental car.
The group ran into trouble on one of their trips to the sea and had to be picked up by the local sea rescue group.
They said authorities tried to rescue their friend who was “stranded” in the Guilderton, a river system north of Perth, and he was released without charge.
Three days after the rescue, fishermen discovered blocks of cocaine tied to barrels off the coast of Western Australia, and about a week later an arrest warrant was issued for the 19-year-old.
The man returned to New South Wales after the incident and had to be extradited to WA, where he and five other men were charged with serious drug trafficking offences.
His lawyer applied for bail on the grounds that the case against his client was entirely circumstantial and denied any knowledge of his drug dealing.
In a ruling published Wednesday, Supreme Court Justice Matthew Howard said he accepted the man’s plea and said the defense had not yet been tested.
But he said the prosecution’s case seemed strong.
“The circumstances of the applicant’s travel to the state, his activities by boat at Two Rocks and at Two Rocks Marina … once ashore, speak neither of a holiday nor of rescuing someone at Guilderton,” he said.
“Although it is accepted that information remains a current issue, [a GPS watch] The applicant’s identification by the police, the timing and frequency of the red boat trips, and the circumstances of the applicant’s arrival in the State strongly suggest that, at the very least, the applicant knew that he was involved in obtaining something that was illegal or should be hidden.
“Of course, this does not mean that the Crown will necessarily be successful on this charge.”
The court was told the man had no criminal record apart from a childhood drug charge and had complex health problems that would be difficult to manage while in custody.
He was granted bail with strict conditions and told he had to live at his mother’s home in New South Wales and post $400,000 surety.
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