A Brazilian national who spent 10 years evading an arrest warrant was this week (16 October, 2024) sentenced by a Queensland court to eight years' imprisonment for his role in a 2012 cocaine smuggling conspiracy.
The man, now 42, was convicted this week after a trial in the Supreme Court of Queensland and his eight-year sentence includes a non-parole period of four years and three months.
He was one of seven men arrested and charged in Australia and New Zealand in March 2012 as part of Operation Ashby, a joint AFP and Queensland Police Service investigation into a transnational drug trafficking syndicate.
The man was a member of the syndicate, which was believed to be responsible for multiple importations of cocaine from South America into Australia via New Zealand.
The syndicate organised for cocaine to be sent from South America and stored in New Zealand, before couriers tried to smuggle it into Australia inside their luggage.
Police seized 7.5kg of cocaine and $615,000 in cash linked to the syndicate during the investigation and in a series of search warrants executed on the Gold Coast and New Zealand, with the assistance of New Zealand Police. Three men were charged in Australia, while another four were charged in NZ as part of the investigation.
The seized cocaine had an estimated street value of around $1.75m in 2012, about $2.3m today.
The Brazilian national, who was arrested on the Gold Coast, was charged and faced court in March 2012, where he was granted bail despite opposition from the AFP. A warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to appear in Southport Magistrates Court in May 2012.
A decade later, he was stopped by WA Police Force (WAPF) officers over a traffic matter. The officers were suspicious about the identification details the man provided and checks done with Australian Border Force (ABF) established he was a long-term unlawful non-citizen of Australia and was subject to the Queensland arrest warrant.
The man was subsequently tracked down and arrested and extradited to Queensland to face trial for his part in a conspiracy to import 1.38kg of pure cocaine, which was seized in New Zealand and which police alleged was going to be sent to Australia.
On 15 October, 2024, a Supreme Court of Queensland jury found him guilty of conspiracy to import a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug, contrary to section 307.2 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
The offence carries a maximum sentence of 25 years' imprisonment.
AFP Detective Superintendent Sascha Austin said other members of the syndicate had received prison sentences of between four and 11 years.
"After 10 years on the run this man may have thought he'd gotten away with it," Det-Supt Austin said.
"This result sends a clear message that police do not give up - if you are involved in the illicit drug trade you will be brought to justice, even if the crime was years earlier.
"The AFP and its partners are committed to preventing illicit drugs from reaching our communities and stopping those who try to profit from this harmful trade."
Operation Ashby began in February 2012 when an Australian drug courier was arrested at Auckland International Airport by New Zealand Police.
Further inquiries led police to the syndicate which was believed to have organised a network of drug couriers in Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and New Zealand.
Another man charged in Queensland, a Brazilian national, now aged 42, is also the subject of an arrest warrant after he failed to attend court for trial in 2015.
