D-Day for Olympian accused of drug plot

A date has been set for a former Olympic silver medallist and his brother to stand trial over an alleged failed plot to smuggle $200m worth of cocaine into Australia.

Former Australian kayaker Nathan Baggaley and his younger brother Dru are both charged with attempting to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug back in 2018.

The brothers were sentenced to more than 20 years’ jail each after a Supreme Court jury found them guilty in 2021.

But both men have since won appeals over their convictions – with the Court of Appeal ordering retrials.

During a brief review of their cases at Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday, the court was told the pair’s new trial was set down for two weeks from October 28.

A further pre-trial hearing concerning the exclusion of some evidence is due to be held in another two weeks.

Counsel for Dru Baggaley did not attend the review.

Solicitor Nick Crawford, acting for Nathan Baggaley, said the further pre-trial hearing would be a “substantive” matter.

The latest development follows Dru Baggaley’s bail application in the Supreme Court being rejected back in March.

Despite offers of a $50,000 surety, Supreme Court Justice Melanie Hindman found that Dru was a potential flight risk and would risk breaching his bail conditions if released.

The court was told Dru was also facing fresh charges relating to allegations he possessed a contraband mobile phone and flushed it down his cell’s toilet.

He has indicated he will fight these charges.

Dru and Nathan’s charges of attempting to import border-controlled drugs relates to allegations they attempted to smuggle more than 500kg of cocaine into Australia in July 2018.

Nathan is alleged to have purchased an inflatable dinghy, fitting it out with $10,000 worth of equipment and communicating with his brother over an encrypted phone using the alias “Thunderbutt”.

Dru and another man, Anthony Draper, allegedly used the boat to retrieve plastic packets of cocaine – valued at up to $200m – from a foreign freighter 360km off the coast of Queensland.

It is further alleged packets of cocaine were dumped into the ocean as Dru and Draper attempted to avoid authorities during a chase at sea.

Draper was sentenced to 13 years in jail.

The jury in 2021 also found Dru guilty.

Nathan was sentenced to 25 years’ jail, while Dru was handed a 28-year jail term.

In his appeal, Dru’s counsel argued a miscarriage of justice occurred due to the “trial counsel’s failure to adduce evidence” relating to Dru’s alleged ownership of a phone.

The court was told Dru believed the packets actually contained tobacco.

Justice Hindman addressed this during the recent bail application and how it was a “vital” part of the evidence.

“The applicant will give evidence at trial among other things that he thought the parcels contained tobacco, he did not know it was cocaine, the relevant phone was not his and he’s not the primary instigator of the importation plot,” she said.