Sunshine Coast’s crack queen, arms dealer and rapper linked to $3m drug ring

A self-proclaimed Buderim ice queen, a Kuluin arms dealer and a Caloundra rapper were three main players linked to a $3 million drug trafficking syndicate on the Sunshine Coast.

A self-proclaimed Buderim ice queen, a Kuluin arms dealer and a Caloundra rapper have been identified as three of the main players linked to a $3 million drug trafficking syndicate.

The trio were all jailed as part of the 12-month police operation Mike Tyras that cracked open the syndicate.

Police have given the Sunshine Coast Daily insight into the inner workings of the syndicate.

Detective Sergeant Craig Mansfield of the Drug and Serious Crime Task Force said the trio were all high profile drug traffickers.

Court documents revealed all three lived a lavish life and bragged about their accomplishments, none more so than the ice queen of Buderim.

THE ICE QUEEN

Out of her tranquil but now infamous home in the hills of Buderim, Rebecca Teresa Castner lived the life of a modern day “crack lord”.

She was unashamed of her crimes which she boasted to have spanned a 13-year career.

Transcripts from intercepted phone calls overheard the 53-year-old bragging about the amount of money she made.

“Being a crack lord is an easy life,” she said.

“They’ll never catch me. We were making so much money we couldn’t spend it.”

Images of Rebecca Teresa Castner posted to social media.

The team of detectives who locked her up said her title fit the bill.

“That self-proclaimed crack lord title, which is accurate,” Sergeant Mansfield said.

“She seemed proud of her achievements and lived quite the lifestyle.

“Particularly in the drug scene she was very confident in her own abilities. She’d use others to debt collect for her, use threats. She was well versed in the drug dealing world.”

The investigation showed Castner would send out runners with a “shopping list” of stolen goods that she would exchange for drugs.

“She was really aggressive and had a large customer base, a lot of traffic coming to her address and public meets,” he said.

“She would rent out holiday units to operate from there with a view of hiding her drug dealing.”

Castner was sentenced to 10 years’ jail in the Brisbane Supreme Court on one count of drug trafficking and several other matters. There was no parole eligibility date declared.

Rebecca Castner, Joshua Wilkinson and Craig Barker were all handed lengthy sentences in the Brisbane Supreme Court.

THE ARMS DEALER

A former civil engineer with a fetish for weapons and exotic animals was another of the Sunshine Coast’s main players in the syndicate.

Police say Craig Kenneth Barker had his own customer base of 40 people and would supply meth in amounts ranging from half a ball to multiple ounces.

Barker operated out of a dishevelled Kuluin home.

It had a firing range hidden underneath his house which he’d use for target practice.

“He was heavily involved in firearms, guns, crossbows, swords, we suspected he was selling those items as well,” Sergeant Mansfield said.

“Part of the investigation was the importation of firearms which we suspected he used for intimidation.”

A search warrant of the home uncovered more than 20 weapons, drugs and paraphernalia hidden in secret compartments of his property.

A diary was also found that showed he sold at least $245,000 worth of meth to 50 people over 15 months.

Police also located an illegal boa constrictor.

“He had a lot of high-end tools and would spend his money on reptiles, snakes and things, exotic animals,” he said.

Barker was sentenced to eight years’ jail in the Brisbane Supreme Court on July 12, 2017 over more than 50 charges including drug trafficking and weapons possession. He had a parole eligibility date set in March, 2018.

THE RAPPER

A part-time “wannabe” rapper and career criminal, Joshua Earl Wilkinson rounded out the high-profile Coast trio.

Wilkinson, 33, ran a meth and marijuana operation out of a Caloundra house with two other men he used as runners.

“He was a serious rapper, he liked that kind of music and writing those songs,” Sergeant Mansfield said.

“He’d do gigs at Caloundra.”

Sergeant Mansfield said Wilkinson had an established set up.

“All these syndicates here, when you’re dealing in kilograms, you need to spread out your operations,” he said.

“So his runners would meet at hotels, motels to deal to avoid detection.”

Police records show Wilkinson was found with 28 grams of meth on him when busted during a tactical intercept on July 10, 2015.

“He was another drug dealer caught up in several of our investigations in the past and this one,” Sergeant Mansfield said.

“Upon Wilkinson’s release and about a week later, investigations revealed he had ordered an ounce of meth.

“We intercepted him soon after and he was jailed.”

Wilkinson was sentenced to six and a half years’ jail in the Brisbane Supreme Court on November 2, 2016 for drug trafficking and several other matters. He was given a parole eligibility date in December, 2017.

On Saturday we reveal Part 4 of the series, the decoded text messages and the “meeting of the bosses” which helped crack open the case.

Read more of this series in the print edition of the Sunshine Coast Daily which will be available weekly on Fridays, starting August 27.