Gold Coast drug bust: Orville and Samuel De Raadt plead guilty to drug trafficking following whopping 250kg cannabis bust

BROTHERS caught up in a multimillion-dollar interstate drug bust said they were artwork delivery drivers when they were pulled over by police with a whopping 86.1kg of cannabis in their car, a court has heard.

BROTHERS caught up in a multimillion-dollar interstate drug bust said they were artwork delivery drivers when they were pulled over by police with a whopping 86.1kg of cannabis in their car, a court has heard.

Orville De Raadt, 53, and Samuel De Raadt, 54, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and other drug offences in the Southport District Court yesterday following a bust which saw a massive 250kg of weed seized by police.

The Gold Coast pair were pulled over at Parkwood on their way back from Victorian suppliers in April 2016.

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The pair told police they didn’t know what was inside the four boxes in the back of the car, explaining that they found them on the side of the road in NSW’s Southern Highlands.

The boxes were opened and 86.1kg of cannabis discovered.

On the same day police executed a search warrant at a storage shed Orville said he rented for and discovered a further 169kg of the drug.

Orville was also found to have 330g of cannabis which he said was for his personal use.

Police also allegedly found $250,000 in the car, which is yet to be dealt with in the courts.

The court heard Samuel was destitute before he started working as a “gofer” or “employee” for his younger brother, making just $1000 for his work between January and April 2016.

The court heard Samuel felt duped by Orville following the arrests and their mother had urged him to make up with his brother.

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Orville’s operations ran from 2013 to 2016, and police found he stayed at the same Footscray hotel in Melbourne dozens of times during that period.

Following the runs over state borders Orville sold the product on to six to ten Queensland dealers.

The court heard Orville started self medicating with cannabis at an early age.

In sentencing, Judge Brian Devereaux took the 2.5 years Orville had spent behind bars into account.

He sentenced Orville to a total of eight years prison and set his parole release date in April next year.

Judge Devereaux sentenced Samuel to 18 months behind bars. He was given a parole release date in September next year.

Samuel’s daughter crossed her fingers as Judge Devereaux delivered his sentence.

She left the court in tears.