Sydney plumber Jonathan Towers refused bail on commercial party drug charges

Prosecutors say Jonathan Towers appeared to be living beyond his means, with beachside properties, luxury cars and overseas trips. But his lawyers say funds used in each purchase are entirely legitimate.

Glamour couple Jonathan Towers and Jemma Dann have been charged over their alleged involvement in a cocaine supply ring operating between Sydney and Canberra. Picture: Supplied

A plumber allegedly at the centre of a sophisticated drug syndicate busted selling more than half a million dollars worth of cocaine and party pills bound for Sydney’s festival scene has denied using drug money to fund his lavish lifestyle.

Police allege Jonathan Towers and his partner, glamorous former soldier turned fitness entrepreneur, Jemma Dann, enjoyed the finer things in life including luxury cars, overseas travel and a beachside pad at Bondi thanks to a flourishing illicit drug business that allegedly supplied large quantities of cocaine and ecstasy (MDMA) later detected at Sydney music festivals.

However, 33-year-old Towers claimed in a court affidavit that all of his monthly expenses and purchases were funded by legitimate means, including previous income from his successful plumbing business, an $800-a-week insurance payout following a motorcycle accident in 2020 and a $45,000 gift from his father.

“I deny that any of my assets … have been paid for using the proceeds of criminal activity,” Towers wrote in the document.

“I have worked hard since the day I left school and saved as much money as I can to try to get ahead financially.”

Dann and Towers are both facing multiple drug supply charges. They are yet to enter pleas in court.

9000 PILLS AMONG DRUG SUPPLY CLAIMS

Towers, who has been in custody on remand since his arrest last November, is facing a host of large-scale drug supply charges amid allegations he was involved in the sale of 1.8kg of cocaine and 7.1kg of ecstasy — some 9000 tablets — to an undercover police officer over a three-month period in late 2022.

Details of the syndicate’s alleged activities — and what police claim was Towers’ leading role in its hierarchy — were outlined in court documents tendered during Towers’ recent unsuccessful bail application in the NSW Supreme Court.

The court heard a police taskforce set up to investigate drug supply between Sydney and Canberra identified Towers as the alleged ringleader of a sophisticated syndicate shifting large amounts of premium cocaine and “double strength” ecstasy, the latter shaped like the ace of spades.

Items allegedly seized by police during a raid on Towers and Dann’s Caringbah home in November last year.

Investigators deployed an undercover officer to act as a buyer and facilitated the payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars to a series of runners allegedly working for Towers and Dann, in exchange for high quality drugs, court documents said.

It is alleged police secretly recorded the sales as they took place in Queanbeyan, Sutton and south Sydney on various dates in the second half of 2022.

After each sale, it is alleged the runners would deliver the cash — up to $118,000 at a time — directly to Towers and Dann in the underground carpark of Bunnings at Caringbah.

Court documents said while the drugs handed to the undercover officer were seized by authorities as evidence, the same ace of spades-shaped ecstasy pills was also discovered in circulation at two separate music festivals last year.

Meanwhile, one of the syndicate members allegedly described the MDMA as “next level” in a message sent to the undercover officer via an encrypted app when they were discussing the deals.

Tablets seized from the house during the raid. Picture: NSW Police

“These are imports, double-pressed 260mg, more than double the strength of normal eccies,” the message read.

“There’s cheaper pills out there but nothing like these. These are next level, everyone is frothing.”

Dann has also been charged over her alleged involvement in the syndicate and is facing multiple counts of supplying a prohibited drug, as well as participating in a criminal group and dealing with the proceeds of crime. She is currently on conditional bail.

She and Towers are yet to enter pleas to their respective charges.

‘LIVING LARGE’

The court heard Towers was not working at the time of the alleged offending, having been badly injured in a motorbike crash in November 2020.

His legal team told the Supreme Court he was in the midst of a $1.8 million CTP lawsuit in relation to the accident, and needed to be at liberty for three months to undergo a comprehensive medical assessment required to progress the claim.

Towers’ lawyers proposed stringent conditional bail including around-the-clock monitoring via an ankle bracelet.

However, prosecutors opposed Towers’ release amid concerns he could flee the jurisdiction.

They noted he appeared to have access to large amounts of cash and had strong ties to Thailand, where he had recently travelled to continue his martial arts training, and presented as a flight risk.

Towers is an avid Thai boxer, whose social media accounts show he has travelled to South-East Asia multiple times in recent years to train. Picture: Instagram

The court heard Towers was paying $900 a week for his home at Caringbah, owned an apartment at Bondi Junction which he was renting out and had placed a $200,000 deposit on a residential construction in Huskisson.

The prosecutor also said Towers was renting two commercial storage units in Kurnell alongside Dann, and the couple owned several vehicles including a Nissan GT-R (valued at $150,000), an Audi SQ5 (valued at $100,000), a Harley Davidson V-Rod (valued at $50,000) and a BMW 335i.

“Police advise the applicant appears to have the financial means to flee the jurisdiction and at the time of offending appeared to have been living well beyond his means,” the prosecutor said in written submissions.

‘IT’S ALL LEGIT’

Jonathan Towers claims the bulk of money used to pay a deposit on a home in Huskisson came from his partner, Jemma Dann, pictured, who received the cash in connection with her military service. Picture: Facebook

Towers disputed allegations that his financial stability came from illegal activity, telling the court via his affidavit that he had worked two jobs in his 20s to earn enough money to set himself up for the future.

He also said his plumbing company and a sports supplement business had provided income of about $2800 a week to his family prior to his accident, although Dann had recently taken over the latter and now operated it herself.

He claimed the rental return on the investment property at Bondi covered the mortgage, and that the deposit for the Huskisson property had been $98,000 – the bulk of which had come via a payment to Dann in connection with her military service.

Towers also provided explanations for how he came to pay for each of the vehicles he owned.

Justice Robert Hulme said he was unable to rule one way or another on the disputed finances given the limited evidence before him.

He described the bail application as “unusual”, but ultimately refused to release Towers on account of the seriousness of the allegations against him.

The matter will return to court later this year.