Mark Fitzgerald applies for bail in Brisbane’s Supreme Court over huge cocaine bust

A grandfather’s bad back could have been the alleged catalyst behind one of Queensland’s largest cocaine busts, a court has heard.

 

A grandfather’s bad back could have been the alleged catalyst behind one of Queensland’s largest cocaine busts, a court has heard.

Earlier this year three NSW men were allegedly caught with more than half a tonne of Colombia’s most infamous export at an isolated boat ramp in Central Queensland.

The men – Mark Fitzgerald, 66, Stephen Webb, 45 and Nathan Fisher, 27 – were accused of having fetched the 520kg of cocaine from a tanker anchored off Gladstone’s coast before returning to shore.

Fitzgerald, who has been in custody since then, made an application for bail in Brisbane’s Supreme Court on Friday.

A cocaine haul seized by police at a boat ramp at in Central Queensland. Picture: AFP

His barrister Matthew Hynes conceded it involved a “staggeringly large” amount of drugs allegedly possessed by his client – a 66-year-old grandpa with virtually no criminal history bar some drink driving in 1987.

“This seems to be a singular incident. And it seems to be an incident which is an aberration, something drawn of circumstances, something drawn from the fact that he just had back surgery perhaps,” Mr Hynes said.

The crown alleges the three men embarked from NSW in a car towing an 8.2m boat on a trailer – all registered to Fitzgerald — and made their way to Curtis Island near Gladstone.

On April 26 at night they allegedly launched the boat in an attempt to retrieve the drugs from the merchant liquefied natural gas tanker Barcelona Knutsen, which was last reported 11 days ago off the coast of South America, according to the website Vessel Finder.

This attempt was unsuccessful, and the men headed out the following night and allegedly retrieved the drugs by way of a rope tied between the tanker and their boat, the court heard.

They returned to shore the following morning at Boyne Island with up to $155 million worth of cocaine and were pounced on by local and federal police – an event captured on surveillance camera.

The men were charged with possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug.

Mr Hynes conceded it was currently a strong crown case but said things could change and proposed his client be bailed under virtual house arrest with the surety of a NSW home being put up by a relative to ensure his compliance with any conditions.

He said one of the co-accused, not his client, was the architect of the scheme.

Police after seizing the massive haul which was allegedly retrieved by three men from a tanker off Gladstone. Picture: AFP

But Commonwealth prosecutor Daniel Trigger said while another co-accused may have allegedly been communicating with the overall mastermind, all three, including Fitzgerald, were accused of playing equal roles.

He opposed bail on the ground Fitzgerald posed a flight risk given the large amount of cocaine seized and the lengthy sentence a conviction would carry.

“He was very much heavily involved in this enterprise,” Mr Trigger alleged.

“He’s obviously being caught in actual, actual possession of half a tonne of a border control drug, cocaine.”

Justice Catherine Muir noted the seriousness of the allegations and despite the strict conditions proposed she could not be satisfied the risks posed by his release could be ameliorated.

Bail was refused.

Originally published as Mark Fitzgerald applies for bail in Brisbane’s Supreme Court over huge cocaine bust