Three men jailed for drug trafficking, money laundering

Business class plane tickets, Rolex watches, gambling, drugs and prostitutes – these were some of the things three men splurged on while trafficking marijuana and cocaine.

Three high-flying traffickers splurged thousands on drugs, prostitutes, overseas travel and luxury watches and laundered their profits through a gold bullion supplier, a court has been told.

Thomas Adam Thatcher, 29, Zane William White, 32, and Nathan Lindsay White, 39, were living the high life running independent lucrative trafficking businesses which sold cannabis and cocaine when they were arrested by Queensland Police in December 2018.

The Brisbane Supreme Court was told that at one point Thatcher and Zane White, a plumber by trade, joined forces trafficking for financial gain to fund their “lavish lifestyles”.

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“They spent large amounts on food, trips overseas, gold, prostitutes, gambling and drugs,” prosecutor Noel Needham said.

Zane White was jailed for drug trafficking.

Mr Needham said Thatcher was “clearly enamored by the cash flow” and used the proceeds of his crimes to go on six overseas holidays in one year, pay for prostitutes and a Rolex watch while Zane White indulged in travelling and gambling.

After an investigation by Queensland Police, phone taps revealed that Thatcher was also laundering money with Nathan White who at that time was working as a sales specialist at Imperial Bullion- a Brisbane-based precious metals supplier.

Nathan White was jailed for drug trafficking and money laundering.

The court was told the pair laundered at least $27,000 through the business with Thatcher using dirty money obtained through his trafficking business to buy gold and Nathan White splitting the transactions to avoid detection.

The court was told Nathan White also led a “double life” running his own marijuana trafficking business for about 18 months.

But the court heard his trafficking was on a smaller scale than the other two and he had simply sold drugs to feed his own addiction rather than to fund an extravagant lifestyle.

The three men faced the Supreme Court where they each pleaded guilty to trafficking and Nathan White and Thatcher also pleaded guilty to money laundering.

Chief Justice Catherine Holmes sentenced Zane White to the highest head sentence, jailing him for six years’ because he had engaged in trafficking for almost two years.

Justice Holmes set his parole eligibility at 12 months to reflect his “pretty convincing” attempts at rehabilitation.

Thatcher was sentenced to five years’ jail, to be suspended after serving 12 months and was also ordered to serve three years on probation.

Nathan White was sentenced to three years’ jail and will be released on parole after serving nine months behind bars.

Justice Holmes said his sentence was to reflect that he was operating at a lower level and did not “seem to have made any real profit”.

“It is a shame to see three men in court in this situation,” Justice Holmes said.

“I hope very much for all of you that you can serve these periods of imprisonment … and that you can come out and start again.”