Queensland’s cocaine kings and queens exposed after major drug busts amid skyrocketing rates of drug use
Major drug busts in Qld have exposed a slew of coke peddlers from a MAFS star to barbers, boxers and even a TikTok influencer. Find out how cops are cracking down on these crims.
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Queensland’s major drug busts this year have exposed a string of unsuspected cocaine dealers including a Married At First Sight star, a TikTok celebrity, barbers, boxers, gym junkies and even a former correctional services officer.
Police drug raids and covert operations captured coke peddlers from all across the state with more than 150 convictions in a three-month period this year.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE LIST OF COCAINE KINGS AND QUEENS
In August, police closed Operation Tango Eel, which targeted trafficking of cocaine and methylamphetamine in the Redlands and Greater Brisbane areas.
The closure of the 12-month operation resulted in nine people charged with 52 offences.
Queensland Police said cocaine users and addicts often committed a range of offences outside pure drug offending and many of the crimes were violent acts committed while affected by the drug or in seeking funds to purchase it.
“There have been a number of significant national seizures of cocaine this year which may have impacted supply and contributed to the slight decrease in cocaine use detected in waste water in recent months,” Queensland Police said.
Latest data from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission showed regional Queensland ranked the second highest nationally for cocaine use, trailing only behind New South Wales.
The ACIC report, released last month, showed on average, across the country, cocaine consumption in capital cities dropped between December 2021 and April this year.
That was in line with an increase in cocaine detections at the Australian border of 447 per cent over the past decade.
AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Luke Wilson said disrupting the supply of cocaine inundating cities was key to combating organised crime.
“The high demand for cocaine in Australia is at the forefront of our battle with organised crime syndicates,” he said.
“They see that big dollar sign over Australia and know the profit they can make is substantially more than any other target market.”
Here’s our most up-to-date list of Queensland coke-dealing drug pushers.
ROCKHAMPTON:
HANNAH CHRISTINE LOVEJOY
Young Queensland mum Hannah Christine Lovejoy who imported $75,000 worth of drugs and had $52,000 in crime proceeds, partly hidden in a washing machine, was given a “merciful’’ jail sentence in July.
Justice Soraya Ryan recognised Lovejoy was under the influence of a manipulative jailed partner who instructed her on how to import drugs and smuggle drugs into prison.
Lovejoy, 27, pleaded guilty to importing commercial quantities of border-controlled drugs, recklessly dealing in proceeds of crime of $50,000 or more and drug trafficking.
She also pleaded guilty to supplying drugs in a correctional facility, failing to provide access to electronic devices when ordered to do so and other drug-related offences.
Steroids, GBL, cocaine and other drugs, with a total value of $11,600 to $11,830, were found at Lovejoy’s Robina home.
Lovejoy attempted to supply drugs, including cocaine and methylamphetamine, into Capricornia Correctional Centre, but packages were intercepted.
Justice Ryan said she would treat Lovejoy in a merciful way, with a lenient sentence because of her tragic and abusive upbringing and the role of her coercive, violent partner in her crimes.
After Lovejoy’s Robina home was searched, $52,215 cash was found in a bedside table, inside a washing machine and above the machine, Commonwealth prosecutor Dominic Nguyen said.
Lovejoy, who had no previous convictions, was sentenced to six years’ jail for drug importation, with parole eligibility after three years.
She was given lesser concurrent jail sentences for other offences, with one four-year jail term to be suspended after three years.
JAMES THOMAS DWYER
Convicted drug trafficker James Thomas Dwyer, 35, pleaded guilty to possession of 1.3g of cocaine on June 29 in Rockhampton Magistrates Court.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Darrell Dalton said security had detained Dwyer at the Giddy Goat Nightclub on June 12 after witnesses saw him “snorting lines”.
Defence lawyer Samantha Legrady said Dwyer had been working in the floor coverings industry for about 15 years, had been out of prison for six years and instructed he had “been clean since then”.
She said Dwyer was out on a buck’s night and did not remember the night, nor the cocaine.
The court heard Dwyer had a three-page criminal record, which included the drug trafficking conviction for which he was sentenced to three years’ prison in 2015, and his last drug offence was in 2019.
Magistrate Cameron Press said Dwyer was “too old to be doing this sort of thing”.
He placed Dwyer on a 12-month probation order with a conviction recorded.
CAIRNS:
JOEL ANTHONY ZUTT
MASON JOHN STEPHENS
Bumbling first-time cocaine traffickers Joel Anthony Zutt, 23, and Mason John Stephens, 21, were both sentenced to jail after coming to the attention of police after separately phoning the local post office inquiring after their missing drug shipments.
The cousins were sentenced in the Cairns Supreme Court in September after both pleading guilty to trafficking cocaine and MDA.
Australian Border Force officials seized two parcels destined for Zutt’s address under a fake name at the Bungalow Post Office in April 2021 and alerted police after it was discovered one parcel contained two ounces of cocaine and the other contained half an ounce of cocaine, LSD, and a separate gram of cocaine.
The court heard both Stephens and Zutt made calls to the post office in relation to the missing package, leading police officers with search warrants to their respective front doors.
Justice Jim Henry noted both were motivated by a desire for financial profit.
Taking into account Stephens’ youth, lack of criminal history, early plea of guilty, rehabilitative inroads, and letter to the court acknowledging his responsibility and regret, Justice Henry sentenced him to four years imprisonment, with a parole eligibility date after nine months.
Taking into account Ms Bilic’s submissions and Zutt’s previous cannabis-related offending, Justice Henry sentenced him to four years imprisonment with parole eligibility after a year.
MATT HILTON
Matt Hilton was described in court as “big-time drug dealer about town” after he was caught selling wholesale amounts of the party drug cocaine to fund his flashy lifestyle.
The fitness trainer, former hairdresser and nightclub security company owner – with more than 13,000 followers on Instagram – trafficked hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of cocaine and testosterone around Cairns.
A court in November 2021 was told he drove a luxury Range Rover, wore designer clothes, commissioned a $120,000 speed boat, lived in a swank inner-city apartment, and enjoyed a ritzy overseas trip to Vegas.
Hilton pleaded guilty to trafficking steroids, cocaine, crystal meth and ecstasy pills between March 1, 2016 and January 3, 2018.
He was ordered to serve 80 per cent of a 10.5-year jail sentence.
PORT DOUGLAS
LEE UNDY
Former Bandido OMCG sergeant-at-arms Lee Undy was sentenced to eight years’ jail in February 2021 for supplying cocaine to a man he met at a baby shower.
Undy admitted to supplying 1kg of cocaine in Port Douglas between August 2017 and January 2018 when he was a gym and yoghurt shop owner in the tourist town.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of drug supply and one count of contravening an order after refusing to give police access to his mobile phone.
The court was told Undy, who once trained to be a pastor, had rediscovered his faith while in custody and was reformed.
He will be eligible for parole in February 2023.
FRASER COAST
GRAHAM ROBERT BRAID
Text messages revealed Graham Robert Braid’s illicit cocaine dealings after police spoke to him on an unrelated matter, with a court hearing his history of offending coincided with the breakdown of his romantic relationships.
Braid, 38, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of supplying dangerous drugs when he appeared before Maryborough District Court in August 2021.
The officers saw a number of messages on Braid’s phone, offering supply of cocaine.
In addition to the supply charges, he faced summary offences, including possessing dangerous drugs, driving without a licence, failing to dispose of a needle or syringe, drug driving and possessing utensils.
His offending was described as low level but “incredibly persistent”.
The court heard Braid had found work as a concreter and was in a long-term relationship.
A letter from his employer described him as a valuable employee.
The court heard Braid was currently in a long-term relationship, but previous relationship breakdowns had resulted in drug use and offending.
Judge Suzanne Sheridan sentenced him to 18 months in prison, with immediate release on parole. He was disqualified from driving for two years.
SUNSHINE COAST
CHRISTOPHER MARK JENSEN
A Married At First Sight star walked free from a Brisbane court in August after admitting to trafficking in $100,000 worth of cannabis, and supplying cocaine and the drug ecstasy as part of a sophisticated drug ring.
Christopher Mark Jensen, 34, a FIFO plumber from Peregian Springs on the Sunshine Coast, was originally charged with trafficking in cannabis with an aggravated circumstance of serious organised crime, which meant that if convicted he faced a mandatory seven-year prison term.
But in the Supreme Court this year, Crown prosecutor Michael Andronicus dropped this charge and replaced it with a less serious charge of trafficking drugs over four months until October 2017, and two counts of drug supply.
He also pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine and ecstasy.
Mr Andronicus told the court that Jensen’s rank in the drug syndicate of up to 40 people meant that he was able to obtain cannabis from the ring “at cost”, then on-sell to his customers.
Jensen, who went by the nickname “Dreads” because of his hairstyle at the time, was a wholesale customer of a Sunshine Coast drug kingpin, who sold $4m worth of drugs, including 626kg of cannabis, 1.8kg of cocaine and 2.9kg of MDMA and over 15,000 pills in a six-month period in 2017.
When police raided former model Jensen’s Peregian Springs home they found $5800 in cash, as well as 197g of cannabis in a vacuum-sealed bag, the court heard.
Alastair McDougall, counsel for Jensen, said that his client had no criminal history and submitted that media coverage of his charges meant the father-of-two had lost his FIFO job in the mines.
Justice Paul Freeburn described Jensen’s role as “pretty serious commercial dealing” but took into account the fact that he had not reoffended since he was charged nearly five years ago, and had no criminal history.
He sentenced Jensen to four years in jail, wholly-suspended for four years, for the trafficking charge, saying this was an “exceptional case” and deserved leniency.
He was also sentenced to 18 months prison, wholly suspended, for the two supply charges.
This is to be served concurrently with the trafficking sentence. VIDEO
LIZ BEITH JAMIESON
Former corrections officer Liz Beth Jamieson, who started “abusing drugs” after her employment ended, was sentenced to two year’s imprisonment with immediate parole for supplying drugs including cocaine.
Jamieson pleaded guilty to 24 counts of supplying a dangerous drug, one count of possessing anything used in the commission of crime, and 10 summary drug related offences in Maroochydore District Court in April.
Judge Gary Long explained the parole requirements to Jamieson in court.
“You probably have some idea how this worked when you were in corrective services” he said.
Judge Long said he accepted a prison term would be difficult for Jamieson, especially due to her previous employment and the “unusual circumstances”.
The court heard Jamieson was previously a disability support worker and helped at the Parks Centre in Wacol before moving roles to become a corrective services officer in the Brisbane Women’s Corrections Centre between 2014 and 2017.
The money police seized was forfeited to the state.
GOLD COAST
EDWARD MARK MCLAUGHLIN
Gold Coast gym fanatic Edward Mark McLaughlin was busted supplying thousands of dollars worth of cocaine to undercover cops.
McLaughlin, who sold varying quantities of the drug on five occasions between January 22 and March 11 last year, claimed he was driven by “indebtedness” to a friend.
McLaughlin’s only prior conviction was for breaching a bail condition in October, 2021.
His Instagram account, under the handle “Shreddie2.0”, documents his passion for health and fitness, displaying photos from previous bodybuilding competitions alongside workout selfies.
A letter of apology written by McLaughlin and character references were submitted to the court, pointing to his marriage breakdown and serious surgery on both knees as personal issues leading up to the offending.
The Coast man was extremely cooperative with police throughout their investigation, the court was told.
McLaughlin pleaded guilty to five counts of supplying dangerous drugs and one count of possessing an item used in connection with supplying drugs.
He was sentenced to jail for two-and-a-half years, to be wholly suspended for three years after serving six months in custody.
JACK STUART JONES
TATE ROBINSON
The ring leader of a cross border cocaine syndicate turned to the drug after holding his mother’s hand after she took her last breath dying from cancer, Lismore District Court heard in April.
Jack Stuart Jones, 22, from Benowa in Queensland, was sentenced in April, after he previously pleaded guilty to direct activities with a criminal group and two counts of supplying a prohibited drug on an ongoing basis.
Co-offender and professional surfer Tate Robinson, 23, from Casuarina was also sentenced after he pleaded guilty to taking part in the same criminal group and two counts of supplying a prohibited drug on an ongoing basis.
The charges related to 15 drug deals between October 1 and November 18 in 2020.
The matter, in Grafton as Lismore courthouse was closed due to flooding, was heard by Judge Jeff McLennan, who described how the criminal group came unstuck after police stopped Jones’s sister’s car where they located cash and mobile phones.
His sister is not accused of wrongdoing and has not been charged.
A task force was established where, after more than 34,000 phone intercepts, it became clear Jones was the ringleader of a group including Robinson, his girlfriend Mikaela Noakes and friend Jed Conroy who were sentenced to a 12-month intensive corrections order and 30-month intensive corrections order respectively.
Judge McLennan said the runners in the group were paid in both cash and drugs for personal use however it was not established how much payment was made.
He said the 15 supplies totalled in 58g of cocaine which varied from 0.5g to 4g with one supply of 31g in a single night.
Robinson was sentenced to a two-year-and-four month intensive corrections order with a condition to not take illicit drugs.
Jones was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, with the non-parole period backdated to November 21, 2022 when he went into custody and to expire on April 13, 2022.
JOEL JAIME PAVLIDES
Boxer Joel Jaimie Pavlides, 20, who worked behind the bar at a trendy Gold Coast nightspot walked free from court in August on a suspended sentence for trafficking cocaine to an undercover cop via social media app Snapchat.
Pavlides, who was working at the Henchman Bar in Miami while pushing cocaine, was in the Supreme Court in Brisbane in August where Justice Frances Williams sentenced him to four years prison, wholly suspended for five years, on the most serious charge of trafficking in the drug between January and May last year.
Pavlides also pleaded guilty to four other less serious drug-related charges.
Crown Prosecutor James Bishop told the court that Pavlides was busted four months after he sold his first bag of cocaine to an undercover cop on January 29 last year, while working behind the bar at the Henchman.
Defence barrister Joshua Jones said his client was young, had not profited from the drug sales because he was snorting them, had shown remorse and only sold drugs because he was under pressure.
Justice Williams told Pavlides that jail time was not necessary because he had accepted responsibility for his crimes, was very young, had not profited and was no longer using drugs himself.
Pavlides remains a barman at another unnamed Gold Coast bar, and trains as a professional boxer.
BEN ALEXANDER TOWNSON
Convicted drug trafficker and former fitness instructor Ben Alexander Townson was given a three-month jail sentence in February for supplying cocaine to one of his solicitors.
Townson was arrested as a result of Operation Jackal, which was investigating Gold Coast law firm solicitors Shaune Irving and Campbell MacCallum, Brisbane District Court heard.
Townson, 32, pleaded guilty to supplying Mr Irving, through an associate, with $300 worth of cocaine on December 8, 2019.
Judge Vicki Loury said Townson had a significant criminal history.
In May 2021, Townson was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years’ jail for drug trafficking, involving him supplying MDMA to a large drug syndicate and buying cannabis and cocaine for the syndicate.
Judge Loury said Townson, who had completed Year 12 at Brisbane private school Anglican Church Grammar School, known as Churchie, had a privileged education.
Barrister Chris Wilson said Townson had worked in the fitness industry, as a personal trainer and running his own supplement shop, before working for a rendering company.
Mr Wilson said since he had been in prison Townson had been doing paid work, which the judge said was only given to “model prisoners’’, and drug rehabilitation courses.
Judge Loury sentenced Townson to three months’ jail, to be added onto his seven-and-a-half-year sentence, and ordered he be eligible for parole on March 15 2023.
BRISBANE
JAMIL HOPOATE
It was the “fairytale” offer that appeared too good to be true – and in October it landed ex-Brisbane Bronco Jamil Hopoate in jail.
Hopoate, 27, was imprisoned over his role as a courier in a massive drug importation scheme.
After being jailed for at least two years and three months by District Court Judge Sharron Norton, Hopoate kissed his daughter and partner and waved to a large contingent of supporters inside Sydney’s Darlinghurst Court House.
“See you soon” and “love you bra” his supporters yelled out as he was led away by Corrective Services officers.
The court was told that the son of rugby league bad boy John Hopoate was suffering from long-term drug, alcohol and gambling addictions and was paid $10,000 for his role in retrieving part of the drug shipment.
He was arrested after police intercepted a consignment of drugs arriving at Sydney airport from London in May 2021.
Police switched the drugs for a dummy substance and installed surveillance devices.
Hopoate was arrested after he climbed inside a truck linked to the massive 514kg cocaine haul – estimated by police to have a street value of $154m – at Pagewood in southern Sydney before leading police on a brief chase.
Hopoate pleaded guilty to one count of supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug.
Judge Norton said Hopoate’s involvement in the drug shipment was “not a minor role”.
And while he was never going to be a part of the street level distribution of the drugs, he willingly took part in the chain of supply.
Hopoate was facing a maximum penalty of life in prison and was given a 25 per cent discount on his sentence for his early guilty plea.
He was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison, with a non-parole period of two years and three months.
With time already served, he will be eligible for release in July 2024.
Hopoate played 12 games for the Brisbane Broncos before he was let go at the end of the 2020 season and failed to earn a contract with another club.
RICHARD KEVIN ANDERSON
Alleged Mongols bikie Richard Kevin Anderson, 32, who spent six months trafficking cocaine and ice to fund his own drug habit was jailed for a year in February.
Anderson pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Supreme Court to one charge of trafficking in dangerous drugs.
The court heard he had already been given a suspended sentence in August 2020 for possessing dangerous drugs in late 2019.
Defence barrister Martin Longhurst said despite already being sentenced, Anderson was then hit with a fresh drug trafficking charge months later in October 2020 relating to the same offending.
It’s understood the fresh charge was laid in the wake of the execution of bikie Shane Bowden when police began raiding properties allegedly connected to bikie gangs and drug distribution.
Mr Longhurst said Anderson had experienced an “incredibly bad 2019”, he became a heavy drug user and began selling drugs to support his own habit.
He said Anderson was now drug and alcohol free, had good job prospects and had significant family support.
Justice Glenn Martin, when sentencing Anderson, said the trafficking was described as low level wholesaling and street level dealing.
He noted Anderson had already been sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment suspended immediately for 30 months in August 2020 for the earlier related charges.
Anderson was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, to be suspended after he has served 12 months behind bars.
TALA YASMIN ZANOTTI
Former “high level athlete” Tala Yasmin Zanotti walked free from court in July, elated after she was sentenced to a suspended sentence for trafficking in cocaine, including home deliveries and selling to customers in a McDonalds carpark north of Brisbane.
Zanotti, 27, who now owns a lawn-maintenance business, was in the Supreme Court in Brisbane in July where Justice Thomas Bradley sentenced her to four years’ prison, wholly suspended for five years, for trafficking in cocaine between February 4, 2020, and July 19, 2020.
Zanotti also pleaded guilty to other drug charges including possession of cocaine and possession of MDMA which were considered aspects of her trafficking, so she was convicted but not further punished.
In sentencing, Justice Bradley said Zanotti was busted by police when they seized 7.45g of cocaine in four clipseal bags found in Zanotti’s car, and $1960 cash, when they searched it in the carpark of McDonalds in Chermside close to midnight on May 31, 2020.
Defence barrister Gavin Webber told the court Zanotti was a former high-level athlete whose career was ended by injury and she became involved in trafficking drugs during a period of turmoil in her life.
He said her mother had abandoned her at the age of 13 and she had spent a period of time homeless as a teen, and she “appeared to have” a diagnosis of ADHD, which was unconfirmed.
Zanotti wrote a letter to the court saying she had cut ties with her friends in the drug world and had now rehabilitated from drug abuse.
PAUL LUU
Brisbane drug trafficker Paul Luu, who was caught with more than 60kg of various illicit drugs at a motel in Oxley in 2020 was sentenced to 12 years in prison in June.
Luu, 32, was found with multiple suitcases containing exceedingly large quantities of various drugs including 45kg of cannabis, 1kg of cocaine, 3kg of MDMA and nearly 10kg of methamphetamine on December 23, 2019.
Luu was also found with more than $133,000 in cash, 1300 diazepam tablets and two handguns — a .357 caliber Ruger revolver and a .22 caliber Beretta.
Luu pleaded guilty to four counts of possessing dangerous drugs exceeding 200g, one count of possessing a dangerous drug exceeding 500g, one count of possessing a dangerous drug exceeding 2g, one count of possessing a category H weapon, and one count of money laundering at the Brisbane Supreme Court.
The court heard police were conducting surveillance on Luu’s fiance Emily Louise Ross who delivered the suitcases to Luu at a motel on the day of the offending, before taking another to a storage locker in Springfield.
Justice Sean Cooper said the offending happened after Ross flew to Sydney from Brisbane and back, returning with three large suitcases containing more than 45kg of cannabis, which she then delivered to the Oxley motel room.
Ross and fellow alleged gang member Brendan Wade Kanofski were also charged over the 2019 drug bust.
Mr Luu was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for possession of methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA and cannabis, three years imprisonment for possession of diazepam, five years imprisonment for possession of cannabis, 12 months imprisonment for possessing the handguns and a further three years imprisonment for money laundering.
All prison terms are to be served concurrently, with parole made eligible from June due to the 899 days Mr Luu spent in pre-custody, which will be counted as time served.
A conviction was recorded.
CONAN VISSER
Children’s charity founder and TikTok star Conan Visser was given a suspended jail sentence in February after pleading guilty to supplying cocaine to friends while on bail after being charged with assaulting his then-girlfriend.
Visser, who started the former anti-bullying children’s charity I Can I Will, pleaded guilty to seven counts of supplying a dangerous drug and one of drug possession.
Visser, 37, who has attracted 22 million views to his TikTok social media platform documentary series on the effects on his body of drinking alcohol, was paid for the drugs he supplied.
Crown prosecutor, Kimberley Thomas, said Visser sourced cocaine for friends and sold it in a social context, but there was a commercial element.
He was on bail for offences of violence at the time, including an assault on his then girlfriend, and days after he was released on bail on the cocaine charges, he engaged in harassment, the court heard.
The court was told Visser pleaded guilty in 2020 to those offences, which involved assaulting his then-girlfriend in her apartment.
Judge Leanne Clare said Visser’s arrest followed three months of police surveillance of a regular cocaine supplier.
Judge Clare said it was clear that Visser had substances with which to cut the drugs which he shared socially, getting reimbursed by some friends.
Defence counsel Chris Minnery said Visser had received government funding for his documentary series, exploring the mental and physical effects of alcohol use.
In 2020, Visser was given a 12-month sentence to be served as an intensive correction order in the community for domestic violence-related offences.
He forced his way into his then girlfriend’s home during the night and assaulted her, putting his hand around her throat and later slapping her on her face.
He was sentenced to a prison term in June, last year, for using a carriage service to harass the woman in a threatening manner.
But Judge Clare said while on the intensive correction order Visser said he was not interested in domestic violence counselling and did not do much of the training he was told to do.
She sentenced Visser to nine months’ jail, immediately suspended, for an operational period of two years and recorded the convictions.
DANIEL MILOS
Daniel Milos, 45, who has admitted supplying coke from his restaurant by using menu codewords and Uber Eats bags, pleaded guilty in 2020 to 13 charges, including 10 counts of cocaine supply, in the Supreme Court in Brisbane.
Milos pleaded guilty to using Uber Eats bags and organising for buyers to pick up drugs from his chef.
Milos’s restaurant where he trafficked cocaine was called Mariosarti, and was on Sherwood Rd in Toowong. It attracted Brisbane’s elite.
It now trades as Barolos Italian restaurant.
Milos’s guilty plea came after police named him as the “principal target” of a joint Queensland Police and Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission operation targeting cocaine trafficking.
Milos pleaded guilty to charges of supplying $128,000 worth of cocaine to a “law enforcement participant” in eight controlled buys in February, March and April 2017.
He also pleaded guilty to a supply charge related to telling Ryan McIver, then head chef at Mariosarti in Toowong, to supply a customer with a “full feed of ragu”, code for cocaine, at the restaurant on October 1, 2016.
Milos’s younger brother and business partner Peter was bludgeoned to death with a spirit level and a hammer in 2014 in a Morningside home.
A man charged with his murder was acquitted at trial in 2017 and the court heard Peter Milos had dealt a “bad batch” of drugs before his death and was locked in a feud with a rival dealer when he was killed.
GEORGE BEJAT
Alleged Comanchero George Bejat was sentenced to two months’ jail, which was suspended for a year, for a “violent pack assault” of a former footballer outside Mr Mista nightclub in February 2020.
In 2018, he was sentenced to an 18-month jail term but released immediately on a five-year good-behaviour bond for evading more than $74,000 in tax.
He was fined for public nuisance in 2016 for threatening to kill a security guard in Fortitude Valley when he was denied entry to the Met on New Year’s Day in 2015.
The convicted cocaine trafficker is one of the most high-profiled alleged bikies in Brisbane and was once the Bandidos Centro chapter president.
Bejat was charged in relation to a brawl at Broadbeach in 2013 but escaped with a $1750 fine.
He was charged over the extortion of celebrity hairdresser Fadi Haddad in 2013 but charges were dropped in 2016.
MORETON BAY
PACEY JAMAINE HASSELL-MEAD
Young Moreton Bay drug trafficker Pacey Jamaine Hassell-Mead, who dealt in five different drugs over an 18-month period, has turned his life around since hitting rock bottom, a court in December 2021 heard.
The Kippa-Ring man has commenced full-time work and was seeking help for his mental health troubles.
Hassell-Mead, 21, pleaded guilty in Brisbane Supreme Court to seven indictable offences and two summary charges.
They included three counts of possessing dangerous drugs, one each of trafficking in dangerous drugs, possessing a commercial quantity of a Schedule 1 dangerous drug, possessing cash obtained from trafficking, and possessing a thing used in the commission of a crime.
The court heard Hassell-Mead trafficked in five different dangerous drugs between January 1, 2019 and his arrest on June 2, 2021.
He primarily trafficked in cannabis, but also dealt cocaine, MDMA, and two other Schedule 2 drugs.
He had “cut off negative friendships”, commenced full-time work as a fabrication labourer at his uncle’s business, where he hoped to take up an apprenticeship, undertaken rehabilitation for his cannabis dependency with organisation Lives Lived Well, and not committed further offences.
Justice Graeme Crow said Hassell-Mead had a “bright
future” if he continued on his rehabilitative path.
Hassell-Mead was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment with immediate release on parole.
LOGAN
ALEXANDER LY VANN
LANDINA KAO
A pair of barbers were jailed for running a business selling wholesale amounts of cocaine, claiming they turned to crime when Covid-19 lockdowns forced them to shut their barber shop.
Alexander Ly Vann, 32, and his uncle Landina Kao, 36, were in the Supreme Court in Brisbane in September before Chief Justice Helen Bowskill, where they pleaded guilty to trafficking in cocaine at Crestmead, in Logan, over five months until November 2020.
The court heard the pair made 14 sales of cocaine over five months and that they were trafficking significant quantities of cocaine, because they were wholesaling to street-level dealers.
In one deal alone, they sold five ounces, or 142g, of cocaine for $44,000 cash, the court heard.
Chief Justice Bowskill said Vann and Kao showed an “ability to get a very substantial quantity” of cocaine, saying five ounces was larger than the total amount sold by many other drug traffickers.
Chief Justice Bowskill told the pair that the Covid-19 lockdowns was “by no means an excuse” for turning to crime.
Vann, a father of two, who has now changed his name to Alexander Kao, also worked at the barber shop but it closed six months after the pair were charged with trafficking.
Vann most recently worked as an accessory fitter in a tyre store, a plasterer and as a barber from his home.
Kao has been working as a barber on Brisbane’s northside while awaiting sentencing.
Chief Justice Bowskill sentenced both men to a head sentence of five years’ jail, they will be eligible for parole in one year.
REDLAND
JOHN ALEXANDER MCLEAN
Former business development manager John Alexander McLean, caught with near $5000 in cash from cocaine sales, was told he had the key to a possible 18-month jail term in his hands, as the last of his charges were finalised at court in May.
Sentenced at district court in January to 18 months’ jail wholly suspended for two years for supplying illegal drugs, McLean, 44, of Thornlands pleaded guilty to seven charges at Cleveland Magistrates Court in May.
They included possessing dangerous drugs, unlawful possession of restricted drugs and possessing property suspected of having been used in the commission of a drug offence.
An October 2020 raid on a River Gum Terrace residence at 10.30am in Thornlands busted the former business development manager with drugs and cash, the court was told.
Officers found $4900 in cash from cocaine sales, a rolled $20 note with cocaine residue, a brown bag with syringes, 18 tablets of oxandrolone (anabolic steroid medication), 10 tablets of oxycodone (Endone), 50 tablets of the growth hormone anastrozole, digital scales for measuring drugs, and clipseal bags with cocaine residue.
The offending came on the back of a criminal history that included drug offending in 2005 and 2015.
Defence solicitor Nathan Hounsell said his client formerly had a promising career as a business development manager and had taken his significant sentence at district court in January to heart.
Magistrate Zachary Sarra denounced the defendant for putting the community at significant risk and marvelled at the man’s storage of drug activity on his mobile phone.
“It is a smart phone, but dumb criminals,” Mr Sarra said.
McLean was convicted and not further punished.
Originally published as Queensland’s cocaine kings and queens exposed after major drug busts amid skyrocketing rates of drug use
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