James Blee’s son James Blee Junior charged with drug supply

A superyacht mogul’s son and aspiring filmmaker has sobbed as he faced court charged with drug supply after a cocaine bust in which a man was found dead in his apparent efforts to retrieve drugs from a boat.

A young Gold Coast aspiring filmmaker and Karen’s Diner employee has sobbed as he was refused bail on drug supply charges related to an incident in which a diver lost his life.

He is not facing charges in relation to the diver’s death.

James Blee Junior, 20, is facing life in prison if convicted concerning a multimillion-dollar cocaine bust in NSW that resulted in the death of a diver.

He is not facing charges in relation to the diver’s death.

Blee’s father – also named James Blee – had already been charged in relation to the discovery of 108kg of cocaine at a Newcastle port in May.

James Blee Senior was subsequently charged with manslaughter in September after Brazilian national Bruno Borges Martins died in a diving accident while he was allegedly trying to retrieve the drug haul from a boat.

James Blee Junior is facing life in prison after his alleged involvement in distributing cocaine. Picture: Facebook

James Blee Junior faced Tweed Heads Local Court on November 2, when he was ultimately denied bail for allegedly importing 108kg of cocaine and supplying prohibited drugs.

Court documents allege Blee Junior was involved in importing 108kg of cocaine and distributing mass amounts of money to fund a joint operation with his father, James Blee Senior, who is currently in custody.

The court heard allegations about large amounts of money, encrypted messaging between Blee Junior and his father and his suspicious decision to flee Newcastle back to the Gold Coast when the alleged operation went bust.

Blee Junior appeared in court dressed in a cream-coloured suit and sobbed in distress as police prosecutor Sgt Val Short gave her submissions.

Sgt Short said Blee Junior’s alleged actions were extremely serious and endangered the safety of the community.

The diver drowned while trying to smuggle an estimated 60 kilograms of cocaine to shore near the Port of Newcastle. Picture: NSW Police

If granted bail, Sgt Short said there was a major risk that Blee Junior would flee the country.

“The risk of him failing to appear or interfere with evidence is far greater – it’s a strong prosecution case that James Blee knew what his father was doing and that he assisted on a number of occasions with the actions of his father,” Sgt Short said.

Sgt Short also noted the unusual communication methods in which Blee Junior was asked by his father to chat on an encrypted app, allegedly to avoid being traced, added suspicion as to Blee Junior’s involvement.

“It’s not the normal way that a father or son communicates – nor did they need to communicate by these means,” she said.

Blee’s defence lawyer Alex Somers said it was purely speculative that Blee Junior would leave the country and emphasised his possible positive bail outcomes.

“My client has strong connections to the Queensland area, and his siblings reside in Cairns, he was a small cog in a much larger machine,” he said.

Magistrate Geoff Dunlevy said “Cash is the life light of crime, particularly in drug-related offences.”

“When he became aware something went wrong with the alleged offences, he fled,” Mr Dunlevy said.

“On that basis, bail is now refused.”

A brief status mention will be held November 16 2022 at the Downing Centre Local Court with the co-accused and a brief service order will be held on December 14 at Tweed Heads Local Court.