Priscilla Visconte Chacon and ex lover Gabriel Zanotelli Federico jailed over cocaine-filled Xbox delivery

A pregnant Brazilian and her ex-boyfriend have been jailed after Border Force intercepted a package containing a gaming console stuffed with up to $2.1 million worth of cocaine. But they were only offered a few hundred dollars for their role.

Gabriel Zanotelli Federico and Priscilla Visconte Chacon were sentenced in Brisbane Supreme Court.

A pregnant Brazilian woman and her ex-boyfriend have been jailed after Border Force officials intercepted a package addressed to the woman’s Queensland home which contained a gaming console full of cocaine.

Thirty-five-year-old marketing executive Priscilla Visconte Chacon, who previously worked for health giant Johnson and Johnson, was promised just $500 to accept the package of drugs that prosecutors estimate could have been worth up to $2.1 million on the street.

Visconte Chacon, who is six months pregnant, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on Wednesday alongside her ex-boyfriend Gabriel Zanotelli Federico who was also jailed for his role in providing her address to facilitate the delivery.

The pair were to receive a “pittance” of $500 each for their small roles in the attempt to help import the cocaine hidden inside an Xbox gaming console posted from Portugal in a DHL Express consignment.

Gabriel Zanotelli Federico.

The cocaine was hidden inside an Xbox gaming console posted from Portugal in a DHL Express consignment.

Barrister Kim Bryson, for the Commonwealth, told the Brisbane Supreme Court the importation was thwarted when Border Force officials X-rayed the package upon its entry to the Brisbane Airport in March 2021.

On March 22, 2021, police raided Visconte Chacon’s home and the same day Zanotelli Federico handed himself in to police at the Gold Coast, making full admissions to his involvement.

Defence barrister Penny White said Zanotelli Federico had moved to Australia for a better life and financially supported his young son, who still lived in Brazil, through his full time job as a pool builder.

“His role was limited in that he provided the address of Ms Visconte Chacon to another party and that he then made a couple of follow up phone calls to find out where the item was,” Ms White said.

“Importantly it’s accepted by the crown that at the time he provided that address he did not have actual knowledge that he was assisting in the importation of a border controlled drug and that actual knowledge did not come until after the package was on its way.”

Gabriel Zanotelli Federico was sentenced in Brisbane Supreme Court.

He told police he felt it was “too late” to stop the process once he realised what the package contained.

“He was very much a contributing member of society until he made this very foolish decision to become involved in this matter,” she said.

“He will pay dearly for that by his deportation out of this country.”

Defence barrister Mark McCarthy said Visconte Chacon had grown up in Brazil and won a scholarship to university in Sao Paulo where she played Volleyball.

She had a successful career in marketing, including an eight-year stint with Johnson and Johnson in Brazil, before moving to Australia where she struggled to assimilate and began a relationship with her co-offender.

The court heard since being charged, she had met and married another man who is a permanent resident of Australia. They are expecting their first child in three months.

Visconte Chacon pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to possess a marketable quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug.

She was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with parole eligibility after she has served two years in jail.

Zanotelli Federico pleaded guilty to a charge of aiding and abetting the importation of a marketable quantity of cocaine.

He was sentenced to five years and six months’ in jail, also with parole eligibility after he has served two years in prison.

The Brazilian citizens will both then face being deported if they cannot convince the Immigration Minister to revoke the mandatory cancellation of their Visas.

Originally published as Priscilla Visconte Chacon and ex lover Gabriel Zanotelli Federico jailed over cocaine-filled Xbox delivery