Star witness in Ivan Tesic trial a drug mule living with his mum and dad

An unlikely “supergrass”, a young Gold Coast drug mule who was living with his mum and dad when he claimed he was working for an ice ring, could bring down accused kingpin Ivan Tesic, a jury has heard.

Ivan Tesic, 45, from Sydney, is alleged to have directed the mule to smuggle meth oil from Sydney to the Gold Coast. Picture: John Gass/AAP Image

AN UNLIKELY “supergrass”, a young Gold Coast drug mule who was living at home with mum and dad when he claimed he was working for an ice ring, could bring down accused kingpin Ivan Tesic, a jury has heard.

Tesic, 45, from Sydney, is alleged to have directed the mule to smuggle meth oil from Sydney to the Gold Coast hidden inside a Holden ute fitted with secret modified airbag compartments, a jury has heard.

Crown Prosecutor Mark Whitbread told a Supreme Court jury yesterday that the oil was in soft-drink bottles when it was delivered to Tesic’s house on the Isle of Capri by the mule, who cannot be named for legal reasons. During one trip, the mule smuggled $180,000 in cash and delivered it to Tesic’s Sydney home in the ute, Mr Whitbread said.

Tesic is standing trial on charges of trafficking ice between March 2011 and March 2014, and possession of more than 200g of ice on March 20, 2014.

He has pleaded not guilty.

Mr Whitbread told the jury that Tesic ran a business sourcing meth oil and “supplying it to a small customer base in bulk amounts”.

Barrister Saul Holt for Tesic, told the jury that the mule was a “liar” who lied to the police to “save himself” and avoid spending an extra 15 to 25 years in prison.

Mr Holt said Tesic knew the mule, because the mule worked for Tesic, cleaning his Isle of Capri home and fixing his pool pump.

The mule was living at home with mum and dad at the time, Mr Holt said.

But Mr Holt argued the mule was dealing drugs out of Tesic’s home – and the ute that Tesic paid for – without Tesic’s knowledge, when Tesic was out-of-town.

Mr Whitbread said the mule would testify he saw Tesic store the highly valuable meth oil – used to make methylamphetamine – at his house and saw Tesic handling drugs and counting drug money on the kitchen table of his Isle of Capri mansion.

Tesic was arrested at Sydney’s domestic airport on April 4, 2014, and was carrying $43,000 in cash, the jury heard. The hearing before Justice Glenn Martin continues