How commando and contract killer Sean Waygood survived a hit while under guard in hospital

‘HE was a martial arts expert and there is no doubt he could kill with his bare hands.’ Meet, Goulburn’s most dangerous inmate; a contract killer and former One Company commando named Sean Laurence Waygood.

THE story of elite soldier and martial arts expert turned hired gun Sean Waygood reads like a best-selling thriller, writes James Phelps, author of new book Australia’s Most Murderous Prison: Behind the Walls of Goulburn Jail.

BING! The light above the lift flashed and the steel doors became alive. They separated in the middle, groaning as the grinding metal gears pulled them apart.

“Quick’’ said the startled officer, grabbing the shotgun from his lap.

“The lift. Someone is coming.’’

The other officer, all black-mesh and bullet-proof vest, turned towards the lift, the doors slowly sliding to reveal what was inside.

The officers, heavily armed and heavily trained; part of an elite Corrective Service’s unit used to “escort’’ Australia’s most dangerous convicts, stood-side-by-side.

Firepower at their fingertips, they watched and they waited … Bing!

The doors disappeared to reveal two men standing inside the lift. Two big men, clad in ominous black leather and wearing black sunglasses under black caps.

“Ummm,’ said one of the leather-wearing men after a moment of staring silence.

“Ummm. Wrong floor.’’

His hands mashed at buttons, a palm or a finger grabbing the one marked “G”, and once again the lift was alive; groaning as the gears pushed the steel doors shut.

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Then they were gone.

“They had come to put a hit on the prisoner who we were guarding in the hospital,’’ said an officer, part of the eight-strong security team which would guard the inmate for two weeks.

“We think they were bikies but we can’t say for sure because they did not introduce themselves and we didn’t go after them. It wasn’t a random thing because the whole hospital floor had been shut down for this inmate. We had intel someone was going to try and kill him, and they would have had we not been there.’’

Sean Waygood handcuffed after his arrest.

Meet Goulburn’s most dangerous inmate; a contract killer and former One Company commando named Sean Laurence Waygood.

“You sure that was by the book officer,’’ Waygood snapped.

“If you are going to search me then I would appreciate it if you did it properly. A jobs not worth doing if it isn’t done right.’’

The officer sighed.

“Yeah the mouth,’’ he said.

“I forgot to look in your mouth. Go on… open up.’’

The man, who had rubber face masks, 3000 rounds of ammunition, wigs, a bolt action rifle, a rifle fitted with a silencer, a Ruger mini rifle, a machine pistol, a .22 calibre pistol, a Luger pistol, a .38 calibre pistol, a silencer and 10 empty magazines in his luxury Newcastle house the day after his arrest, smiled.

“That’s more like it.’’

A school dropout, turned elite Australian Army commando, turned contract killer, Waygood was arguably Goulburn’s most dangerous man.

“He’s a lethal unit,’’ said a current correction’s employee.

“He was a martial arts expert and there is no doubt he could kill with his bare hands. But he was also just bloody difficult to deal with because he was so arrogant.

“He was a very arrogant bloke and he thought he knew everything. He was compliant as an inmate but very arrogant in his ways.

“Searching him was a nightmare. You would have to do it by the letter of the law or he would give you hell. He would pull you up on any procedure that wasn’t carried out 100 per cent.

“He would belittle you because he was an ex-commando and he knew everything apparently. But he was one bad dude and no one in there would mess with him. No one had the balls.’’

Except for a couple of former friends that were now mortal enemies.

Waygood spent five years in the army as an elite soldier in 1 Commando Company.

A martial arts expert, who went to North Shore Sydney private schools, Waygood was an expert in airborne assaults and against all odds raids.

“He would belittle you because he was an ex-commando and he knew everything apparently. But he was one bad dude and no one in there would mess with him. No one had the balls.’’

He went from dodging bullets to dealing with drunks after quitting the army, the killing machine becoming a security guard who worked at several Sydney nightspots.

“He started some sort of security business,’’ the officer said.

“But it went bust. And it was about then he decided he might start working for some of the dodgy people he had met while working on the doors. He went back to doing what he knew best.’’

That was killing.

Waygood became a gun for hire and performed what he called “black-ops’’ for anyone that had the cash.

He was available for contract killings, high-risk robberies, and near impossible break-ins.

The commando orchestrated a daring robbery at the BOC gases headquarters in Wetherill Park where he bypassed state-of-the-art security to steal chemicals to be used in drug production.

Handgun discovered in search following Waygood’s arrest.

Waygood was also one of three men who abducted and killed a man in an infamous Australian crime.

“We had loads of intel (intelligence) that the (accomplices) had put out a hit on him,’’ the officer said.

“Waygood rolled over when he was arrested and got a 50 per cent reduction after pleading guilty to his crimes.

“I think he only got about 15 years on top.

“The cops were really after the (accomplices), who are very heavy dudes, and Waygood was only too happy to give them up.

“He was always going on escorts to the Crime Commission and stuff like that but the heavy intelligence came when he got sick.’’

Waygood was diagnosed with cancer soon after he pleaded guilty to numerous charges, including conspiracy to murder and accessory to murder.

“He had an eight-hour operation for something to do with his cancer,’’ the officer said.

“He had cancer of the bowel and he ended up having to wear a colostomy bag.

James Phelps’ book is being released on August 3.

“As I said we had a heap of intel that the (accomplices) were going to knock him while he was at the hospital, so they sent in eight heavily-armed officers to guard him for two weeks.

“And they are lucky they did because a couple of blokes turned up to hit him.’’

The officer claims two men attempted to enter the section of the hospital where Waygood was recovering following the surgery.

“They saw the firepower we had and disappeared,’’ the officer said.

“Two bikie guys came up the elevator and saw the guards and pissed off.

“The officers were fully armed, shotguns and the whole lot.

“The hospital wing was locked down and they should not have even been able to get that far.

“These two guys turned up and the guards shat themselves. Fortunately the two bikies shat themselves more when they saw they were outnumbered and they did a U-turn.’’

The guards saved Waygood’s life but the surgery did not. The former commando turned Australia’s most dangerous prisoner was dead at the age of 43.

He was killed by cancer in 2014 after serving the first five years of his sentence.

* If you liked this exclusive Sunday Telegraph story, you’ll love James Phelps’ upcoming book Australia’s Most Murderous Prison: Behind the Walls of Goulburn Jail, in stores on August 3. Pre-orders available at Bookworld and iTunes

* DON’T MISS PART FOUR OF THE PRISON DIARIES IN THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH NEXT WEEK: FORMER HEY DAD! STAR ROBERT HUGHES’ FIRST WEEK IN PRISON