From glamour to slammer: The downfall of Briana Ioannides

She was the high-achieving, glamorous young Gold Coast criminal lawyer with a promising career ahead of her - until she became seduced by the Glitter Strip’s dark underbelly lifestyle of bikies and drugs.

Briana has gone from glamour to slammer after being jailed on Tuesday.

SHE was the high-achieving, glamorous young Gold Coast criminal lawyer with a promising career ahead of her - until she became seduced by the Glitter Strip’s dark underbelly lifestyle of bikies and drugs.

Within 18 months of starting work in for high-profile Southport firm Gatenby Criminal Lawyers, Briana Ioannides had gone from representing hardcore crooks to becoming one herself.

Briana has gone from glamour to slammer after being jailed on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, in the Brisbane Supreme Court, Ioannides was jailed for eight-and-a-half years for drug trafficking and 21 other weapons and drug offences.

It was the moment her dramatic downward spiral ended on the cold, hard floor of a prison cell.

The 30-year-old seemingly had the world at her feet when she started work as a lawyer in April 2014.

A bright student at one of the Gold Coast’s most prestigious schools, Ioannides went on to earn a double degree in law and commerce from Griffith University and a diploma in legal practice from Bond University.

Ioannides as a solicitor.

Outside court last August.

According to a former profile on the Gatenby Criminal Lawyers website, she gained her passion for criminal law while taking part in Griffith University’s Innocence Project, which works to free wrongly-convicted prisoners.

Ioannides was a regular, friendly face at Southport Magistrates Court where she competently represented clients including four Mongols bikies charged with drug trafficking.

But just months after that court appearance, Ioannides’ world came crashing down when she was caught in a major drug and guns bust of her own.

Ioannides was still all smiles as she was taken to Southport Watch House.

In November 2015, she and her then-boyfriend were arrested in a dawn raid on their rented Bundall home by bikie-busting cops from Taskforce Maxima.

Police at the time alleged they found drugs including ice, ecstasy, liquid GBH and steroids, well as a loaded sawn-off shotgun and a handgun.

As photos of a dishevelled-looking Ioannides being led into the watch-house in handcuffs were splashed across newspapers and TV screens, she was immediately suspended from her law firm job.

Ioannides would go on to be busted six times in 10 months for more drug offences and breaching bail as her life completely unravelled throughout 2016. In one raid, she was even found hiding in a cupboard.

Ioannides shielding from the media on her way to the watch house in 2015.

She was still camera shy while at the Southport Watch House.

One magistrate warned she would be “straight on the next bus” to prison if she re-offended while another ordered her into rehab.

In the Brisbane Supreme Court this week, she pleaded guilty to around 40 offences including trafficking, selling and possessing drugs including methamphetamine, heroin, MDMA, GHB and steroids, as well as weapons and property crimes.

The court heard Ioannides would request payment for drugs in a “friendly manner” but if the money was not forthcoming, her then-boyfriend would follow up with threats.

The sentencing hearing was told Ioannides descent from successful criminal lawyer to drug dealer began when she broke up with her long-term partner and met the then-partner.

Briana Ioannides shields her face while leaving the Southport Watch house in 2016.

“You were a successful solicitor practising in criminal law,” Justice Debra Mullins told Ioannides.

“I’m sure that prior to 2015, you didn’t envisage yourself standing in the dock yourself and being sentenced.

“You exemplify what happens to a young person with a promising career who becomes addicted to drugs. You allowed your life to basically get out of control.”

Leading Gold Coast lawyer Chris Hannay has represented Ioannides throughout her stunning fall from grace and said it served as a valuable lesson on the pitfalls of being sucked in to the dark side of the Glitter Strip’s party scene.

“It’s a warning for any young professional who thinks that the party life is a release from society,” he said.

“It’s not - it’s a recipe for disaster and no one is immune to it, whether you a doctor or a stockbroker or a lawyer.

“And once you fall into that hole it’s not an easy thing to walk away from.”

He said Ioannides, who was now clean and sober after spending eight months in pre-sentence custody, realised the implications of her actions and was determined to make something of her life.

“She has gained a lot of insight and she is determined to make better choices in the future,” he said.

“She is a lot better physically and mentally than what she was.

“There is certainly still hope for her.”

Ioannides will be eligible for parole in February 2021.