Old-style Sydney crooks claim they were used by cocaine smuggling syndicate

A drug cartel lured three old-time crooks out of retirement for one last job. Unfortunately for the trio, they resembled the Three Stooges, rather than Hollywood heroes The Expendables.

Ray Dumbrell, Kevin Theobald and Laurie Barkl. left, were more bungling Three Stooges, right, than Sydney’s underworld answer to The Expendables.

They claim to be the Sydney underworld’s answer to The Expendables. But instead of Sylvester Stallone and a group of ageing Hollywood stars, their ranks include a cast of retirement-age criminals who were big names about 40 years ago.

They say powerful figures in an international drug smuggling cartel took advantage of their old age and waning influence by sending them in as “stooges“ on a “suicide mission” to retrieve a $47 million cocaine shipment, their lawyers told the Downing Centre District Court this week.

The mission was guaranteed to fail because police had already seized the 188kg drug haul — which was hidden inside a shipment of metal ingots sent from Mexico — and were listening in via hidden recording devices.

The deteriorating deplorables include 63-year-old Kevin Victor Theobald, a one-time big name on the Sydney crime scene in the 1980s, who was once shot at by feared assassin “Mr Rent-a-Kill” Christopher Dale Flannery, and was acquitted of murdering Bronte drug dealer Mick Sayers.

Alongside him is Laurie Barkl. The 61-year-old has been reported as having links to former rugby league players suspected of being involved in the drug trade, but is now struggling to eat in jail after losing seven of his top teeth.

The Three Stooges: Larry Fine (l to r), Joe ‘Curly’ DeRita and Moe Howard.

Then there’s 74-year-old Ray Dumbrell, an eastern suburbs identity who was friends with drug smuggler and giant punter Victor Spinks. The court heard Dumbrell is now suffering the effects of “developing dementia”.

The trio have pleaded guilty to trying to unpack a cocaine shipment sent from Mexico to Sydney. It was the first time any of them had been before the courts in decades.

Police surveillance pictures of Laurie Barkl …

… Ray Dumbrell and Kevin Theobald.

In 1997, Dumbrell was sentenced to 13 years in jail after being convicted for importing cannabis.

In court recently, his barrister Ian Lloyd KC said: “I can only describe him as a knockabout chap … but he showed potential to go straight for many many years and I can only describe this as an aberration”.

Barkl’s last criminal entry was for a breach of a periodic detention order in 1993, and his barrister David Dalton SC told the court his client had lived “26 years of crime-free existence” where he had made a “productive contribution to the community”.

Theobald was jailed for supplying a commercial quantity of drugs in 1998.

In relation to their recent attempt at making a score, Australian Border Force officers found 188 blocks of cocaine hidden among the shipment of 1890 metal bars in February 2019.

Investigators removed the drugs and allowed the shipment to continue to its intended destination.

The shipment was delivered to a warehouse belonging to Aviation Welding near Bankstown Airport, which was once linked to disgraced cop Roger Rogerson.

Police arrest Theobald …

… and Barkl at their homes.

The 188kg drug haul was hidden inside a shipment of metal ingots sent from Mexico. Picture: Australian Border Force

Theobald, Barkl, Dumbrell and others went to the warehouse and made multiple attempts to unpack the missing drug shipment from February 27, 2019. But they failed on each occasion — and police listened in on hidden recording devices while watching their movements.

On March 13, Theobald was recorded in the warehouse saying “40 f. king million … down the drain.”

The trio may have seen themselves as Sydney’s answer to The Expendables, a group of ageing mercenaries on one last job.

The barrister appearing for the Crown, Lester Fernandez, told Judge Andrew Scotting the trio were senior members of the drug syndicate.

He told the court “each offender was in a very high position of trust”.

Theobald’s barrister Avni Djemal told the court the exact opposite was the case.

He told the court that Theobald and his co-offenders were exposed to the most risk by being sent in to retrieve the drugs — a job reserved for the low-level criminals.

“Where you stand in the hierarchy … has a lot to do with the risk you are exposed to,” Mr Djemal told the court. “Mr Theobald is perhaps exposed to the most risk.”

Mr Djemal told the court that Theobald had limited knowledge about the shipment and had to be given instructions along the way by those higher up the chain.

“There is no evidence that Mr Theobald had any decision-making as to how much (cocaine) was coming in, when it was coming in, what was going to happen to it, or what the arrangements were,” Mr Djemal told the court.

“These are the things that demonstrate a role over and above the sorts of menial, high risk level extraction that make you expendable.”

Mr Dalton told the court if the men were higher in the drug operation they would have noticed the shipment was almost two tonnes lighter after the ingots concealing the cocaine had been removed by police earlier.

“If these people knew … you wouldn’t go anywhere near the place, ” Mr Dalton said. The Sentencing is November 23.

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