Backyard businesses, backpacks and a celebrity parent: The drug crimes of Gold Coast mums and dads revealed

From a celebrity’s dad gone bad, to a mum who used her daughter’s backpack to hide money from police, we look at Gold Coast’s parents caught up in drug dealing.

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Raising a child is hard enough without falling into the world of crime and for these drug dealing parents the law soon caught up with them.

We take a look at some of the mums and dads who couldn’t kick the high of drug dealing, including a couple who used the money to fund a luxury life and a celebrity’s father who was caught up in a multimillion-dollar drug ring.

Here is a list of just some of the more memorable cases to come before courts on the Gold Coast.

ALLIRA JADE CAMPBELL

Burleigh Heads drug trafficker Allira Jade Campbell, 36. Picture: Facebook

Burleigh Heads mother Campbell was sentenced to 10 years’ jail in May this year.

The 36-year-old was sentenced for 13 offences including trafficking in ice, possessing 750g of the drug, supplying GHB six times, attempting to pervert the course of justice, destroying evidence, failing to provide passwords for mobile phones and possessing a used glass pipe.

Brisbane Supreme Court heard during her trial Campbell dealt up to $57,000 of ice weekly.

The mother got her own daughter involved during a police search when she tried to slip $80,000 cash into her daughter’s bag under the guise of giving her a hug, the court was told.

During the search police also found Campbell buried kilos of drugs in her backyard and poured a quantity of GHB down her sink, the court was told.

ADRIAN BARRETT

Adrian Barrett had to watch his son Jordan’s rise to fame from behind bars after he was sentenced to jail for his involvement in a $12 million drug ring. Picture: Supplied

Barrett is the father of Gold Cost heart-throb Jordan Barrett. He had to watch his son’s rise to fame from behind bars.

Adrian Barrett was sentenced in the Southport District Court in 2013 to eight years in jail for his involvement in a $12 million drug ring.

His de facto partner Allison Cale – Jordan’s stepmother – was also sentenced to the same amount of jail time for her involvement in the syndicate from their Varsity Lakes hydroponics shop.

Both were granted parole after serving less than three years.

Australian model Jordan Barrett arrives to attend the Cinema Against AIDS gala at the Villa Eilenroc. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP)

Jordan Barrett was only 16 when his father was sent to jail but was already on his way to stardom.

At the age of 13 he was scouted at a Palm Beach grocery store. He has since has worked with the likes of Balmain and Versace and notched up a string of Vogue covers.

Last month the 24-year-old model announced his surprise engagement to a mystery woman.

EVA MALANDRIS

Eva Malandris (left) leaves Southport court.

The Gold Coast mother pleaded guilty in October last year to giving two teenagers cannabis.

Malandris, 54 at the time of the hearing, pleaded guilty to seven charges in total.

It included two counts of possessing dangerous drugs, two counts of supplying dangerous drugs, two counts of supplying to a minor and one count of possessing dangerous drugs in excess of two grams.

Malandris was sentenced to two years prison with immediate parole.

In September 2019, Malandris was found with 8.92g of methamphetamine and cannabis, a court was told.

A text conversation where she offered to provide 3.5g, or an eight ball, of the drug ice to a person for about $550 was also found on her phone.

REBECCA PAIGE MARTIN

Gold Coast mum Rebecca Martin pleaded guilty to multiple drug-related charges in 2020, including trafficking cannabis. Picture: Supplied

In January 2020 Gold Coast mum Rebecca Martin pleaded guilty to multiple drug-related charges.

The charges included trafficking cannabis, permitting use of place for drug activities, two counts of possessing dangerous drugs and three counts of supplying dangerous drugs.

At the time Martin was 21 years old and a court heard she had given birth eight weeks prior to her hearing.

The recent mum was sentenced to two-and-a-half-years in prison with immediate release on parole.

A police search on Martin’s Gold Coast home on September 11, 2018 found 507g of cannabis in her kitchen, 42 MDMA tablets and $3330 cash in her bedroom, the court heard.

The prosecutor told the court Martin sold to 18 different customers on 30 occasions and tried to organise supply of drugs 50 times over an eight-month period in 2018.