Three people have been banned from the courtroom where the trial is continuing after jurors raised concerns about being stared at and followed. The court heard Draper testified as part of an undertaking made when he received a reduced sentence during earlier court proceedings. "I had no suspicions it was going to be used for anything like this," Nathan Baggaley said.ĭru Baggaley earlier told the court he was just "following orders" made by Anthony Draper when he threw bundles of cocaine out of the RHIB as it was pursued by a navy vessel on July 31, 2018.ĭru Baggaley says he was vomiting from being seasick while the two men travelled hundreds of kilometres into the ocean.ĭraper had told Dru Baggaley to join him on the boat "whether you like it or not", warning he would tell "dangerous people" where his family lived, the younger brother has told the court.Īsked if he was saying he had been kidnapped, Dru Baggaley said: "I didn't want to be on that boat, that's for sure."ĭraper, 56, earlier told the court he flew from Sydney to Coolangatta at Dru Baggaley's request, thinking they were going a few kilometres offshore to pick up "smoko" which he thought was marijuana. He bought a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) and equipped it with navigation equipment, a wireless router and a satellite phone. The Olympic kayaker worked as a fibre-glasser mainly making surf skis, but was up for a career change, he told the Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday. Those sentences and Dru Baggaley’s time in custody until Tuesday’s court proceedings have resulted in him spending 11-and-a-half years out of the last 14 behind bars.Nathan Baggaley, 45, said his brother "seemed genuine" when he spoke about the whale-watching venture in May 2018. The brothers were jailed in 2009 for manufacturing and supplying large numbers of ecstasy tablets, and again in 2015 for producing party pills and conspiring to make methamphetamine. Nathan Baggaley’s career unravelled in 2005 – the year after the Athens Olympics – when he was banned for taking steroids.
Dru baggaley professional#
The brothers could only have been motivated by greed to commit the “very serious offending”, the court was told during sentencing submissions.ĭraper – a professional fisherman who testified during the Baggaley brothers’ trial as part of an undertaking – was sentenced to 13 years behind bars after pleading guilty to the same drug importation charge during earlier proceedings. Justice Lyons found evidence that established Nathan Baggaley knew of the voyage by the day before the men went to sea and that “it was to retrieve a large quantity” of cocaine. She sentenced Dru Baggaley on the basis he was “a principal organiser of the attempted importation of the cocaine”, knew a large quantity of drugs were involved and recruited Draper to go to sea with him.
“I find … that Nathan Baggaley knew the importation of cocaine involved a large quantity and was actively standing by to receive that cargo and to facilitate the movement of that cargo as a principal,” Justice Lyons said. It was Nathan Baggaley who bought the RHIB, a trailer and equipment like a GPS system and satellite phone, all worth more than $100,000. Instead she found the former world champion was “actively involved in the attempted importation of cocaine” and was to receive a substantial reward for his services.
Justice Lyons earlier rejected Dru Baggaley’s claim he should be sentenced on the basis he intended only to import tobacco, and the argument Nathan Baggaley’s role was comparatively minimal as he simply aided his sibling. Nathan Baggaley – who was on parole at the time of the importation attempt – was arrested almost a year later.
Dru baggaley registration#
The boat’s registration was covered with duct tape that had Nathan Baggaley’s fingerprints on the underside.īundles recovered at the time, together with those that washed ashore for months after, contained 650 kilograms of white powder containing cocaine worth between $130 million and $200 million.
They were arrested shortly before the RHIB reached the mainland. The men retrieved bundles thrown off the ship after the 11-hour journey, but on their return flung them into the sea when pursued by an Australian navy vessel.
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