Drug fugitive Robert Pollybank Gee fled Australia out of ‘absolute fear’ of prison, court heard

An international fugitive fled SA because of his “absolute fear” of going to jail but instead wound up in a Thai prison nightmare, living with 60 people to a cell.

A fugitive drug kingpin who fled overseas a decade ago in “absolute fear” of serving a lengthy jail term wound up living in horrific conditions in a Thai prison, a court has heard.

He has now asked a court not to impose a crushing sentence because he is “desperate” to reconnect with his children.

Robert Pollybank Gee, 63, became one of Australia’s most wanted fugitives when he absconded to Thailand in 2011 after his arrest for drug offences linked to the seizure of $1.2m worth of drugs in 2006.

During sentencing submissions in the District Court this week David Edwardson QC said his client was “in the burnt out stage of his life” and unlikely to reoffend if he did not die in prison.

He said Gee accepted he was “the author of his own misfortune” but was “desperate to have some hope that he will be able to get out one day and actually be able to re-engage, one-on-one, with his children”

Gee was arrested by Thai authorities in 2016 and jailed for four years for the possession of a fake Canadian passport, before being extradited back to Australia in late 2020.

Robert Gordon Pollybank Gee leaving court on tax evasion offences.

Mr Edwardson said Gee had absconded out of “absolute fear” of an inevitably lengthy term of imprisonment.

“Obviously the prime motivation for fleeing the jurisdiction was effectively avoiding facing the music,” he said.

He said Gee was not entitled to a sentencing discount for the time he served overseas but his imprisonment there had lessened his risk to the community.

“He describes it in this way: 60 people per room, sleep shoulder to shoulder on a concrete floor … people sleeping at your feet. There are 700-750 prisoners in each yard. There are no showers as such … the only cooling is ceiling fans.

“Of course he can’t get credit for that time served in a Bangkok prison, but it’s that background and the way in which that has affected him that does inform the court in terms of evaluating his risk to the community.

“By the time this man is released from prison, he will be no threat to the community at all.”

He said Gee was a “pathological gambler” who fell into “very significant debt” that led him into a life of crime.

He has pleaded guilty to nine drugs charges including taking part in the sale of cocaine, cannabis and methylamphetamine.

Jemma Litster, prosecuting, said Gee “sat at the apex” of the drug syndicate which allowed him to earn a living from the “movement of enormous quantities of drugs”.

“It’s plain on the evidence in this matter that Gee sat at the top of this syndicate,” she said.

She said other members of the syndicate owed him “large debts”, including one who owed him $198,000.

Gee was arrested after police raids in June 2006 at Elizabeth South and Plympton and uncovered guns, 8300 LSD tablets, 8kg of cannabis, more than 7kg of amphetamine and 6200 ecstasy tablets.

Gee returns to court in November.