Drug mule Stephen David Anthony Toy pleads guilty Mackay airport bust

A Sydney plumber’s shockingly bold attempt to smuggle drugs and sneak a gun through a regional Qld airport has sparked a warning about the “weaponising of domestic travel”.

Mackay airport security stopped a man who had been concealing a handgun and $110,000 cash in his luggage.

A tradie turned interstate drug mule’s attempt to smuggle drugs into regional Queensland and sneak a gun through an airport could have been “nothing less than catastrophic”.

This is what Mackay District Court heard after Sydney’s Stephen David Anthony Toy was busted with huge stash of cash and marijuana earmarked for the North Queensland city.

The Crown has since seized the $110,000 cash which was uncovered when the 42-year-old also tried to sneak a handgun in his carry-on luggage, both of which he had planned to courier back to New South Wales.

The court heard the bungled scheme came undone on May 21, 2024 when Toy flew from Sydney to Mackay arriving about 1pm – in tow was meant to be a blue suitcase containing five kilograms of marijuana that did not arrive.

Toy waited for a time before leaving the airport where, the court heard it was accepted, he met with someone before returning to the airport about 4.30pm with a small carry-on bag and a large black and grey duffel bag that was checked in.

As he tried to get through airport security the guards uncovered a handgun and magazine in the small bag, as well as $48,500 - another $61,500 was concealed in the duffel bag.

A District Court Judge said Stephen David Anthony Toy naively tried to get a handgun through airport security in Mackay. Note: this is not the gun police seized from Toy.

Police were called and Toy, a plumber, lied claiming the smaller amount had been money owed to him for work done over three months.

He also claimed he was returning the larger duffel bag to Sydney for a subcontractor he barely knew.

The court heard that night the blue bag arrived in Mackay and despite weighing 12kg, a scan showed nothing inside but a further search revealed five kilograms of marijuana spread across 11 Cryovac bags.

The court heard Toy had offered a number of versions about what happened.

This included telling police he paid between $12,000 to $15,000 for the drugs and was intending to sell them for $23,000 or $24,000 to help cover his mortgage.

However, his barrister Matt Jackson, instructed by Ivan Sayad or SANS Law, said his client “was in a state of panic” at the time he spoke with officers.

“He’s made a number of terribly foolish decisions. The first was to deliver the cannabis to Mackay,” Mr Jackson said.

“My instructions are that he was paid about $10,000 as a courier.”

Toy, 43, was paid about $10,000 to try and smuggle five kg of marijuana into Mackay. PICTURE: ANNA ROGERS

Judge Michael Byrne accepted Toy had received the weapon in Mackay and had not travelled with it “because of the high probability it would have been detected at Sydney airport”.

“Based on the objective facts and leaving aside any of the versions, I find that you had travelled to Mackay from Sydney without the firearm,” Judge Byrne said.

“You were transporting five kilos of cannabis, in my view. You went in Mackay, came into possession of the tainted money, as well as the firearm.

“I find you were therefore transporting a firearm as well as large amounts of what is inevitably tainted money from Mackay back to Sydney when you were intercepted.”
Judge Byrne said the amount of cash was worth more than the value of the drugs.

Crown prosecutor Ashley Gaden pushed for a punishment that sent a strong message to the community “to ensure that others do not seek to … weaponise domestic travel for their own gain”.

Toy was arrested and has spent 12 months in custody on remand, which is the mandatory minimum penalty for possessing a shortened weapon in a public place.

“Also to prevent others was utilising it to assist with the on-distribution of drugs,” she said.

“He’s taken a weapon into an airport … if someone else got a hold of that bag or that gun the end result could have been nothing less than catastrophic.”

Judge Byrne said it showed “some naivety” that Toy would think he’d get the firearm through the security scanner.

“That perhaps shows that you are not operating at the level of those whom you were working with,” Judge Byrne told him.

The court heard the gun magazine had been empty.

Toy, 43, pleaded guilty to aggravated drug possession, possessing a shortened firearm in a public place and possessing tainted property (the cash).

He has been in custody since his arrested in May 2024, serving 12 months on remand. The court heard he had kept busy completing courses and working while in custody on remand.

Judge Byrne decided not to order parole, finding Toy had the capability of performing well without burdening the parole system.

Instead, he was handed a 3.5 year jail term suspended after 12 months, which was deemed time already served on remand.
The remaining 2.5 years will hang over his head for four years and convictions were recorded.