Rose Thomas in court over alleged drug smuggling
THE daughter of a multi-millionaire businesswoman has appeared in court for allegedly smuggling a huge haul of amphetamines from Mexico.
NSW
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THE daughter of a multi-millionaire businesswoman has appeared in court for allegedly smuggling a huge haul of amphetamines from Mexico.
Dressed in black and wearing her distinctive reading glasses Rose Helena Thomas, 25, faced Central Local Court on Wednesday morning waving sheepishly to the magistrate when her matter was mentioned.
She and her partner, Norma Zuniga Frias, were arrested on March 1 when police foiled an alleged plot to import 20kg of methamphetamines worth $21 million from Mexico concealed in stereo speakers.
Thomas, who is the daughter of online publisher and entrepreneur Jackie Maxted, was granted bail on March 23 swapping her grungy inner-west share house for her mother’s $4.5 million Bondi mansion while she awaits trial.
Zuniga Frias, also 25, was charged with one count of importing a commercial quantity of ice and one count of possess a commercial volume of the drug.
They each face life in prison if convicted. Neither woman has entered a plea.
As part of her bail conditions Thomas is required to live with her mother, is not allowed to leave the house without her or someone deemed suitable and must report to police daily.
Her partner Frias remains in custody at Silverwater Women’s Correctional Centre and also appeared in court on Wednesday via audiovisual link from
Ms Maxted, 56, who has no involvement in the case, has a property portfolio worth nearly $10 million, including the Bondi house, which boasts a pool, Miele kitchen and “designer bedrooms”. Ms Maxted paid $100,000 as security for her daughter’s bail.
Documents lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission show Ms Maxted sold one of her three beauty-themed websites, Beauty Haven, to Bauer Media in 2015 for more than $20 million.
That year, she bought a two-storey, three-bedroom penthouse in the New York-style Griffiths Teas development in Surry Hills for $4 million, as well as the Wellington St, Bondi, home.
It is a far cry from the modest Marrickville share house the Thomas and her lover lived in before their arrest.
Three months before police swooped on her daughter, Ms Maxted posted a photograph of Thomas, Frias, herself and her three other children, telling a friend on Facebook: “I suppose they’ve all changed quite a lot since we last saw you.”
Ms Maxted has featured in several articles online about female entrepreneurs.
Thomas and Frias are next scheduled to appear before the same court on July 11.