Sebastian Barnard shocked by 991kg meth delivery in yacht drug deal

A Brit who was caught with a tonne of meth on a yacht off Sydney said he expected to pick up only a suitcase of drugs at sea but was “flabbergasted” at what he saw on the mothership.

A Brit who was caught on a yacht with a tonne of ice on-board off NSW says he expected to only pick up a suitcase of drugs at sea but was “flabbergasted” when he saw the actual amount.

And once Sebastian Barnard, 35, had collected the 991kg of Mexican meth – worth almost half a billion dollars – from a mothership near Norfolk Island he thought he and New Zealander Mark Bishell, 34, were going to sink when 15-metre waves pounded their vessel called the La Fayette.

“I couldn‘t have fathomed it would be that amount, it was flabbergasting,” Barnard said of the ice in Downing Centre District Court on Tuesday.

Police intercepted the La Fayette in waters off Lake Macquarie. Picture: NSW Police

New Zealander Mark Bishell was one of two men arrested on the yacht that was carrying 991kg of ice destined for Australia.

“It filled up both of our rooms and then some, it was an exorbitant amount.

“At first we didn’t believe it because it was such a large amount.

“You’d think maybe a large suitcase or something of that nature, but not that much – it was a ridiculous amount”.

Barnard said a ferocious storm hit them as they sailed towards Broken Bay with the illegal cargo before they were intercepted by NSW Police, who were acting on a tip off originally from New Caledonian authorities, in April last year.

“(It was) hands down the worst experience of my life … This was by far the biggest storm I’d been in, there were 15-metre waves and 40km winds, it was absolute hell,” he said.

Police search the La Fayette in Balmain. Picture: AAP

The court was told Barnard, a professional yachtie who also has South African citizenship, became involved in the operation after falling into debt while living in Dubai to someone known only as the principal, who was the mastermind of the massive drug importation.

When under cross examination by prosecutors Barnard denied searching online “What’s the best Mercedes to buy?” and “Rent a Lamborghini in Melbourne” before he was arrested.

He told the court he did not pull out of the plot when he saw the drugs on-board the mothership, which had sailed from Mexico, because he grew fearful of what the principal was capable of if crossed.

Officers remove the meth from the yacht. Picture: AAP

“I was in fear for my life … who would mess with someone that can orchestrate a tonne of meth? I‘m very sure I’d be dead within less than a week,” he said.

“If they can get three people I‘ve never met before to sail from wherever, come meet me … what can’t they do?”

Barnard and Bishell, who had first flown into Australia in the guise of holiday-makers before departing Queensland on the La Fayette, are facing a long time in jail after both pleading guilty to attempting to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.

The court heard Bishell had a lowly role in the operation as a deckhand.

Judge Garry Neilson adjourned the sentence hearing until Wednesday.