Port Douglas father and son Colin Edward Heidke, 73, and Paul Micheal Heidke, 45 sentenced for drug trafficking operation

A Port Douglas father and son duo have been sentenced over an extensive wholesale meth trafficking business using the dad’s home as a cash and drug “warehouse” for southern couriers.

Colin heidke was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment to serve six months actual custody after he permitted the use of his Mowbray property for his son Paul's trafficking of Methamphetamine. Photo: facebook

A Port Douglas father and son duo have been sentenced over an extensive wholesale meth trafficking business using the dad’s home as a cash and drug “warehouse” for southern couriers.

Paul Micheal Heidke, 45, pleaded guilty to trafficking the drug methamphetamine between February 10 and October 12 2022 among other related charges in Cairns Supreme Court.

His father Colin Edward Heidke, 73, pleaded guilty to permitting Paul’s usage of his premises for the purpose of trafficking.

Colin was also charged with six other offences committed by him in the context of his son’s offences.

Prosecutor Matt Hancock said couriers would travel from Brisbane or Townsville to make deliveries of either cash or drugs to the Mowbray address where they would then be passed through to local traffickers who would distribute the drugs around Far North Queensland.

The court heard Paul also engaged in street level dealing to a number of clients.

Police identified a number of drop offs but the amount of drugs that was trafficked remained unclear although Mr Hancock said it was clearly “a wholesale gig” with some street level trafficking also associated.

The eight acre Mowbray property was raided by police on October 28, 2022.

Alongside drugs and cash seized a large piece of earth moving equipment stolen from a Gulf mine was also located on the property.

When police asked Paul for a message app on his phone reportedly told them it was “go and get f----ed”.

Justice James Henry said it was clear Colin’s offending was the product of “misplaced loyalty” to his son.

Justice James Henry.

Justice Henry said Colin was before the court as a first offender.

“It is a sorry thing to see a man of his age charged with such an offence at this state of his life,” he said.

Justice Henry said Paul had a recent criminal history consistent with someone who fell into relatively minor drug offending in his early 30s.

The mens’ defence counsel told the court, before the trafficking period, Paul had built a drug debt and had been victim of a home invasion by people who wished him to trade drugs.

The court also heard after the home was raided and Paul ceased trafficking two enforcers travelled to the Mowbray address where they assaulted Paul in an effort to convince him to resume his activities.

The court was told that despite his involvement in the high volume business Paul was left with a debt of $50,000 to his suppliers.

Justice Henry remarked, while the level of profit was unclear, it was clearly “not all speed boats and Maseratis”.

Paul was sentenced to nine years and three months imprisonment with a parole eligibility date of three years and one month.

Colin was sentenced to three years imprisonment to serve six months in actual imprisonment before being suspended for three years.

Originally published as Port Douglas father and son Colin Edward Heidke, 73, and Paul Micheal Heidke, 45 sentenced for drug trafficking operation