Former X Cargo nightclub co-owner Angus Robert Michael Cattanach, 44, pleads guilty to supplying cocaine

The former owner of a Brisbane nightclub who was charged with trafficking cocaine has been met with a major court bombshell.

Former nightclub owner Angus Robert Michael Cattanach leaves Brisbane Supreme Court after being sentenced for supplying cocaine. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass

A former Brisbane nightclub owner, who police busted drug dealing during a major cocaine syndicate crackdown, has had his trafficking charges dropped in an eleventh-hour court case twist.

Angus Robert Michael Cattanach, 44, was previously expected to stand trial in April accused of trafficking cocaine in connection to a major syndicate based out of Spring Hill apartment.

However, his drug trafficking charge was dropped by the prosecution at his Brisbane Supreme Court sentence on Tuesday, in which he pleaded guilty to six lesser charges of supplying dangerous drugs.

Cattanach, the former part-owner of Fortitude Valley’s X Cargo nightclub, was one of nine individuals originally charged with trafficking cocaine in 2022 following a lengthy police investigation.

He was charged alongside now-convicted drug traffickers Gene Isaac Shaw and Christian Collado, who are both currently serving jail sentences for their involvement.

The court heard Cattanach was not a member of the syndicate, but became associated with the syndicate through his work in the night-life industry.

Crown Prosecutor Luke Smoothy said police had identified Cattanach through surveillance at a location in Spring Hill where the syndicate regularly met.

Former nightclub owner Angus Robert Michael Cattanach leaves Brisbane Supreme Court. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass

“It was through his association with those people that he was able to access dangerous drugs,” Mr Smoothy said.

Justice Declan Kelly noted the drugs Cattanach sourced were predominantly for personal use, along with the occasional supply.

He said Cattanach had supplied an unknown quantity of cocaine on three occasions – one of which was for $2500.

On other occasions, Cattanach had supplied 3.5g of cocaine, 6 MDMA pills for $300, and an unknown quantity of cannabis, the court heard.

Justice Kelly said Cattanach, a father-of-three, had started using cocaine for personal use during a downward spiral in his life, and that his initial occasional use quickly became a regular occurrence.

“You describe yourself as being lost and feeling like the only way to cope was to use cocaine, to help you keep going,” Justice Kelly said.

File picture: X Cargo bar in Fortitude Valley

Mr Smoothy said police had found Cattanach in possession of 5.374g of cocaine in 24.473g of substance back in December 2021.

“That was not enough though for him to detach himself from the people that he’d been associating with and he was observed at the Spring Hill address again on the 22nd of July 2022,” Mr Smoothy said.

Cattanach had pleaded guilty prior to his sentence on Tuesday to possessing cocaine in excess of 2g and an additional count of supplying dangerous drugs.

Mr Smoothy noted Cattanach had a single entry on his criminal history – which was a minor breach of bail after he was charged over the drug offending.

Defence barrister Martin Longhurst said his client was now working full time in the construction industry and tendered four drug tests, in which his client had tested negative.

He submitted that the media attention his client had received since being charged initially was an “unjust imposition”, considering the drug trafficking charge had now been dropped.

Justice Kelly said he considered the need for community deterrence to be greater than the need for any personal deterrence in Cattanach’s case.

“The supply of a highly addictive drug into our community such as cocaine will have caused necessarily damage to the lives of users but also their families and associates and their friends,” he said.

However, he said Cattanach had not reoffended since being charged and that his affidavit reflected that he was “genuinely remorseful”.

“You notably deposed to being deeply ashamed and embarrassed about your conduct and that you regret every decision you made during that period of your life, Justice Kelly said.

Cattanach was sentenced to two years imprisonment with immediate parole and three days in presentence custody declared time served.

Originally published as Former X Cargo nightclub co-owner Angus Robert Michael Cattanach, 44, pleads guilty to supplying cocaine