Chef avoids jail time for importing drug-laced paint stripper from Europe

Ben Hamilton wanted an effective paint stripper to use in his burgeoning furniture restoration business. Naturally, he turned to the internet. He got a lot more than he bargained for.

Ben Hamilton has avoided jail time for importing 5L of paint stripper which was found to predominantly be made up of the illegal drug GBL. Picture: Madeline Crittenden.

Multi Gel Remover bills itself as the best paint stripping product on the market, able to be shipped from Europe to Australia with minimal fuss, for maximum efficiency.

But an amateur Illawarra furniture restorer has found out the hard way why you shouldn’t always believe what you read on the internet.

The product was certainly as advertised – nothing worked better at removing paint, glue and varnish from those preloved homewares, Ben Hamilton told Wollongong District Court on Friday.

However, it was Hamilton’s attempt to import 5 litres of the gel – which is made up almost entirely of the illegal drug GBL – which would lead to a significant case of buyer’s remorse and the prospect of spending the next few decades behind bars.

The court heard Hamilton, a chef working for aged care giant Illawarra Retirement Trust, came across the miracle gel remover in 2020 while searching Google for an effective multipurpose paint remover to use as part of a new business venture restoring old furniture.

Police seized five litres of GBL, the main ingredient contained in paint stripping product Multi Gel Remover, the court heard. Picture: NSW Police.

Hamilton said the website mentioned nothing about the star ingredient in the product and he began importing the gel to use in his business.

It’s unclear how or exactly when Hamilton became aware the gel contained GBL, but conceded he knew the truth of what he was importing by at least August 6, 2020.

Two months later, Hamilton placed an order for 5 litres of gel remover – his third purchase from the Dutch-based seller – using his own name, address and phone number and his own credit card for the $500 payment.

He told the court he intended to use the 5 litres to renovate the Primbee rental property he and his family were living in at the time.

The court heard GBL, also known as liquid ecstasy, sells for about $5 per millilitre, however Hamilton denied he had any intention of selling the gel.

He said he had sampled a small amount of the gel but claimed it was not as potent as pure GBL, which he’d taken in the past.

One of the bottles seized by detectives. Picture: NSW Police.

The court heard Australian Border Force officials intercepted the consignment when it landed in Sydney in November, 2020. The product was tested and found to contain 5 litres of GBL with a 94 per cent purity.

NSW Police arrested Hamilton at his property on November 18 and charged him with commercial drug importation, to which he pleaded guilty.

Judge Andrew Haesler described Hamilton as “ignorant” and “gullible”.

“Just because there are promises on the internet doesn’t mean it should be believed,” he said.

However, Judge Haesler said he could not find beyond reasonable doubt that Hamilton had imported the product intending to sell it or make a profit on it.

“I’m prepared to accept the importation was for a relatively benign purpose … for its stated use as a paint remover,” he said.

He agreed to spare Hamilton jail time, instead sentencing him to a two-year intensive correction order, along with 200 hours of unpaid community service work.