Australian Olympic kayaker Nathan Baggaley and his younger brother have been found guilty of a failed plot to smuggle up to $200 million worth of cocaine into Australia.
Nathan Baggaley came second in the men's 500m kayak race at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Photo: AFP
The two men were on trial in the Supreme Court in Brisbane, charged with attempting to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug in July 2018.
The prosecution alleged Dru Baggaley, 39, was responsible for recruiting another man, Anthony Draper, to help him collect 650kg of cocaine from a foreign ship more than 360km off the coast of northern New South Wales.
Aerial surveillance captured the entire exchange on camera. Two hours after loading their boat with dozens of packages, the men were pursued by a Royal Australian Navy patrol boat.
Footage captured by authorities in the air and on the water showed the men in a dramatic high sea chase and Dru throwing dozens of bundles overboard, before they were eventually apprehended by Queensland water police.
The prosecution alleged Nathan Baggaley, 45, was aware of his brother's plan and assisted him by purchasing the boat he used and fitting it with navigation and satellite equipment, before concealing its registration with tape.
Prosecutors also alleged on the day of the importation, Nathan had planned to meet Dru at the boat ramp on his return from sea, where he would be responsible for storing the drugs.
Both men pleaded not guilty at the start of their joint trial, with Nathan claiming he knew nothing about the plot.
On Tuesday, he told the court he had purchased the boat, with money given to him by Dru, but he was told it would be used to start a whale-watching business.
"I had no suspicions whatsoever that it was going to be used for anything like this," Nathan said.
"I had no idea any of this was going on."
Nathan also denied using an encrypted messaging application to contact his brother while he was at sea.
'This guy has just turned on me'
Earlier in the trial, Dru told the court Draper was the orchestrator of the plan and he was only told it would involve importing tobacco.
Dru told the court he was only supposed to organise the purchase of the boat with money from Draper and had been physically forced to help him, after he agreed to navigate the boat out of the Brunswick River.
"This guy has just turned on me," he said.
"I went flying backwards and he just kept going straight out to sea.
"He goes 'you're coming with me whether you like it or not'."
Dru told the court Draper threatened if he did not help him his "family is dead".
The court also heard Draper, who is serving jail time for his involvement, agreed to testify against the brothers in exchange for a reduced sentence in separate court proceedings.
When giving evidence, it was revealed Draper had sent letters to Dru from prison, apologising for tricking him.
"I'm thinking about talking to the AFP [Australian Federal Police] to get a discount on sentencing," one letter said.
Brothers convicted over psychedelics
It can now be revealed the brothers had previously been convicted over their involvement in a drug manufacturing syndicate that produced a tablet hallucinogenic known as 2-CB in clandestine labs across Queensland and northern New South Wales.
In 2015, Nathan pleaded guilty to manufacturing a marketable quantity of amphetamines and conspiracy to manufacture the drug.
Dru pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the manufacture of a marketable quantity of the drug, as well as conspiracy to manufacture it.
Both were sentenced to more than two years in jail.
The brothers were also convicted for other drug charges in 2009.
The pair will be sentenced at a later date, with both men facing the prospect of life in jail.
At the Athens Olympics in 2004, Nathan Baggaley won a silver medal in the 500m kayak race. That year, he was voted the Australian Institute of Sport's Athlete of the Year. Nathan won the 500m event at Zagreb in 2005, before being banned for 24 months for steroid use.
- ABC