Danielle Hogan to be sentenced for role in cocaine syndicate

A Sydney woman had decided to leave a cocaine syndicate — that was raking in $3.1 million a year — just two weeks before police arrested her.

A Sydney woman had decided to cut ties with a cocaine syndicate that was raking in $3.1 million a year after her partner found out about her illegal activities, only two weeks before police arrested her.

Danielle Hogan, 25, of North Bondi, worked as a runner for the drug operation in late 2019, delivering more than 580 bags of cocaine to customers in more than 370 separate deliveries across the city.

Police allege the group supplied about 200 bags of cocaine to customers a week for $300 each, with estimated earnings of $60,000 per week or $3.1 million a year.

Danielle Hogan worked as a runner for the drug operation in late 2019.

Hogan had voluntarily left the syndicate on her own terms.

However, the court documents show Hogan had voluntarily left the syndicate on her own terms after having words with her then partner about her chosen line of work.

On October 23, 2019, at 6.30pm she sent a text message to the syndicate’s central call centre mobile and wrote: “Hey I’m sorry but I’m done. I’ve taken my pay $450 from yesterday, left everything in the safe, password is ‘c**t’. My partner found out I was doing this and I had a decision to make. Good luck with everythin”.

Hogan never contacted any of its members again after that shift and after sending that text message, according to the documents.

“The offender thereafter immediately and voluntarily terminated her involvement with the group and did not have any further contact with any member of the group,” the agreed facts state.

But only two weeks later she was arrested by police.

Officers had covertly watched Hogan deliver a bag of cocaine to a man in the heart of the CBD on Castlereagh St two months earlier on September 13.

Danielle Hogan outside Central Local Court.

Danielle Hogan leaves the Silverwater Correctional Complex. Picture: Jeremy Piper

Police had also raided a Bankstown property they believed was being used by the syndicate for the storage of bulk amounts of cocaine and where the bagging, processing and cutting of the substance took place.

Inside, they seized more than 1138 grams of the drug.

The court documents state there’s no evidence Hogan knew what was happening at that property and her criminality does not extend to items or drugs seized by police during the raids.

The court was told runners were only usually paid $20 or $25 for each bag of cocaine they delivered to customers.

Hogan, who has previously worked as an event planner, has pleaded guilty to one count of supplying a prohibited drug not less than a commercial quantity and will be sentenced in Downing Centre District Court in August.

Judge Dina Yehia, SC adjourned the sentence to that date so a sentencing assessment report could be prepared on Hogan, who is being legally represented by solicitor Andrew Sant.

She was initially charged with multiple offences including participating in a criminal group but they were later dropped in court.