Gosford: Pierre Rudolf Huber jailed for kilograms of cocaine, ice and nearly $500K cash

A man who was “highly trusted” by the criminal underworld’s upper echelon to be the “guardian of drugs and money” has been jailed after being pinched with kilos of coke, ice and cash.

Pierre Rudolf Huber did not live an opulent lifestyle and may have been operating under some “duress” when he agreed to mind drugs and cash for bad people.

But a court has heard the 51-year-old knew enough to know it was against the law and ingratiated himself to such a degree that he became so “highly trusted” by the upper echelon of a criminal network that he was the “guardian of drugs and money”.

Huber faced a sentencing hearing at Gosford District Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to seven counts of supplying commercial quantities of drugs and dealing with the proceeds of crime.

Huber faced Gosford District Court on Wednesday. (AAP Image/Sue Graham)

A further two counts of supplying a large commercial quantity and possessing a precursor ingredient for the manufacture of drugs were also taken into account at his sentencing.

An agreed set of police facts states officers from the Drug and Firearm Squad commenced Strike Force Stornaway in August 2019 to investigate the supply of prohibited drugs across Sydney.

Officers had Huber under surveillance when they watched him drop off a Coles bag to a man on March 11, 2020 at Leonay, near Penrith.

The Coles bag was later found to contain 499.8g of cocaine.

The Coles bag wa found to contain nearly half a kilogram of cocaine. (File image from Strike Force Stornaway.

A month later on April 9 police followed him to Charmhaven where they pulled him over on the Pacific Highway.

“During that search police located a handheld electronic remote device that opened two hidden compartments in the vehicle, one located beneath the front passenger seat and one located behind the driver’s seat,” the facts state.

Inside the hidden compartments police found nearly 2kg of methylamphetamine and half a kilogram of MDMA tablets.

Huber was arrested and taken to Wyong Police Station while officers conducted a search of his Hurstville apartment where they found 1.509kg of cocaine, 1.431kg of methylamphetamine, nearly 50g of MDMA and $431,830 in cash among other items seized for examination.

Police arrested Huber at Charmhaven. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

The facts state Huber’s fingerprints were found inside various bags containing the drugs and cash.

The court heard Huber “never contemplated getting money by illegal means before” and found himself at a low point in his life after losing his job and agreeing to “mind” items for people in exchange for rent.

The court heard the agreement soured following a break in at his unit in 2017 when a bag containing cash was stolen.

Judge Sharon Norton said Huber gave differing accounts as to how much was in the bag, ranging from $185,000 to $500,000, but either way he had to pay it back or “something is going to happen to you or your family”.

The court heard Huber was given an encrypted phone and money to buy a car, which was later taken away and fitted with secret compartments.

Huber took some of the drugs for his own use, the court heard. (File image)

Judge Norton said there was also no evidence Huber had lost his job and that he obviously knew what he was minding because he helped himself to the drugs for his own use.

She said while there was no evidence Huber lived an opulent lifestyle or was involved as either a street level dealer or in an organisational capacity in the distribution network, he was “highly trusted” by the criminal network who “used him” to remove themselves from the drugs or money.

“He seemed highly trusted to be the guardian of money and drugs,” she said.

“It was submitted the court would find the offender was extensively involved in the organised and ongoing supply of very large amounts of a range of prohibited drugs at a high level.

“The fact that large amounts of drugs and cash were found in the car in hidden compartments and in various locations at his home was said to show the offender was a quote `highly trusted and upper echelon participant’.”

Judge Norton sentenced Huber to nine years jail with a non-parole period of five years and four months.

“Unfortunately the first big mistake you made was a very big mistake and you kept doing it,” she said.