Former Olympic kayaker, Nathan Baggaley and his brother have each been sentenced to over 20 years in jail after trying to smuggle over 500 kg worth of cocaine into Australia.
Nathan and Dru Baggaley attempted to import up to $200 million worth of cocaine into Australia via international waters in 2018, but were caught in the act by the Australian Navy.
The brothers were found guilty by a jury earlier this year and sentenced on Tuesday to 25 years jail for Nathan and 28 years for Dru.
During a sentencing hearing, prosecutor Ben Power told the court the men came from a “stable” background and had been motivated by “greed“.
“Ultimately their involvement was to make a very large sum of money.”
The court was told that Dru collected 650 kg of cocaine from a ship off the New South Wales coast with another man, Anthony Draper, after the pair went out to sea in an inflatable boat on July 30, 2018.
Disgraced Olympian Nathan was on the mainland communicating with Dru using an encrypted phone app.
Dru and Draper began throwing bundles of cocaine off the boat when they spotted a Navy patrol boat chasing them.
You’ve got to hand it to Nathan Baggaley. No matter how many times he was busted, he bounced right back and got busted again. Right back on the horse, so to speak.
— Tony Tea (@AfterGrogBlog) July 27, 2021
The brothers’ lawyers argued that Dru had believed the packages contained tobacco, and Nathan knew nothing about a plan to import any illicit substance.
Draper gave evidence against the brothers in the trial as the prosecution said that he was an unwitting participant recruited by Dru.
“He (Draper) was sentenced on the basis that he was not aware that he was involved in the trafficking of cocaine until he was out at sea at the very boat,” Mr Power told the court.
Justice Lyons said it was important that their sentence “signals plainly” to people that their offence is serious, and that their punishment acts as a deterrent to others.
“To make it clear that actions of this nature will receive quite substantial penalties.“
The men will not be eligible for parole until at least 2033, but according to 9News, they will appeal their sentences.
And so the world gets to know of our Olympic hero turned cocaine shipping zero #nathanbaggaley.. https://t.co/RryLD14tt5
— Hugh Riminton (@hughriminton) July 27, 2021
