Gold Coast cannabis cartel kingpin Terrence John Thornbury jailed for 10 years
IT WAS an audacious operation that smuggled tonnes of cannabis on domestic flights. Now the cartel’s kingpin has had his day in court.
Crime & Justice
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THE kingpin of a Gold Coast drug cartel who directed the smuggling of 2.8 tonnes of cannabis worth $30 million into Queensland has been jailed for 10 years.
Terrence John Thornbury, 39, known to friends as “Shady”, was sentenced in the Brisbane Supreme Court today by Justice John Byrne for directing the cartel, including managing six drug mules who made 108 return flights to Melbourne on Virgin Australia flights in 2013-14.
The couriers would travel on commercial flights to and from Melbourne carrying large sums of money down and cannabis back in their checked in luggage.
The cannabis was prepared and wrapped with multiple vacuum-packed bags and scented cloth coverings to confuse drug detecting dogs at the airport.
The first recorded flight was on January 14, 2013, and the last on March 31, 2014.
The couriers would transport the cannabis in lots of 50 or 100 pounds at a time.
Justice Byrne described the 2.8 tonnes as a “very substantial” amount and said Thornbury was motivated solely by greed.
The court was told all of the members of the cartel – except for two drug mules – were arrested on April 15, 2014.
The plumber-turned-used-car-dealer and drug kingpin was arrested while staying at Komune Resort in Coolangatta.
Police estimated Thornbury, a father of four, and his brother Joshua paid about $15.625 million for cannabis purchased from his Melbourne wholesaler.
Police estimate the cannabis was sold for $30.6 million in southeast Queensland.
Thornbury’s barrister Christopher Wilson told the court Thornbury blamed his brother Joshua for luring him into the drug business, claiming Joshua approached him and asked him to help.
Thornbury, who is originally from Dubbo in the central west of NSW, was originally charged under the controversial anti-bikie laws but the charges were dropped after negotiations with the Director of Public Prosecutions and the setting of a legal precedent by other accused drug-traffickers.
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