IN COURT: Ipswich grandad Bernard O’Keefe’s drug trafficking scheme exposed

An Ipswich grandfather’s drug trafficking scheme involving 90kg of cannabis and more than $114,000 cash was uncovered after police found bags of the drugs covered in his fingerprints.

An Ipswich grandfather with a history of drug offending has faced court once again after he was found to be in possession of 90kg of cannabis and more than $114,000 in drug money.

Bernard O’Keefe, 52, appeared in Ipswich District Court on Thursday March 31, charged with trafficking drugs, possessing drugs, possessing property obtained from trafficking or supplying, and possessing anything used in the commission of crime.

He pleaded guilty to all four counts.

The court heard O’Keefe had been sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment in 2013 for trafficking MDMA, methylamphetamine, and cannabis in what was quite a lucrative and “sophisticated” business involving earnings of more than $95,000.

The charges before the court on Tuesday related to incidents which occurred in February 2020, when O’Keefe was 50 years old, while he was on parole for the earlier offences.

Crown prosecutor Andreas Galloway said the Ipswich grandfather was arrested after he received cannabis in the amount of about 45kg on two occasions over February 18 and 19, 2020.

Police conducted a search of his Chuwar address on February 19 and uncovered bags of cannabis in his backyard shed covered in his fingerprints, as well as $114,550 cash.

They also found a number of items related to the drug possession, including scissors, scales, and clipseal bags.

O’Keefe’s counsel Penelope White said that while there was a “commercial purpose” to her client’s possession of the “significant amounts” of cannabis, he would not be the one to benefit financially from its sale.

“Certainly, he’s aware of the commercial purpose,” Ms White said.

“He becomes involved in it … (but) he’s not the person who’s the ultimate beneficiary of that quantity of cannabis.”

She asked Judge Michael Byrne QC to consider that O’Keefe had been a “model prisoner” and had worked throughout his time in custody.

The court heard O’Keefe is married and has a large family with several grandchildren.

By Thursday, he had spent 771 days – about two years – in custody.

Ms White argued this time had been particularly difficult for O’Keefe as he endured long periods of lockdowns due to Covid-19.

Mr Byrne took into account O’Keefe’s pleas of guilty, the significant quantity of cannabis found in his possession, and his criminal history when deciding an appropriate penalty.

He said his situation was a “rare” one compared with other perpetrators of like offences.

O’Keefe was sentenced to a total of four years’ imprisonment, which was suspended immediately, with an operational period of five years.

Mr Byrne declared 235 days of the sentence as time served. Convictions were recorded on each count.