Australian crew member sailing with Nikolics just days before Fiji arrest

A FORMER crew member who narrowly avoided being arrested on John and Yvette Nikolic’s drug yacht says he had concerns and felt uncomfortable working for the couple before its fateful raid by authorities in Fiji.

John Nikolic, Yvette Nikolic, Jeffery Hassell and Mark Shea on the boat Shenanigans. Pictured: Supplied.

EXCLUSIVE: A crew member on John and Yvette Nikolic’s drug yacht says he “dodged  a  bullet” after being kicked off the boat before it was raided by Fijian authorities.

Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Herald Sun, Mark Shea of Ararat has spoken about life on board Shenanigans as it sailed around French Polynesia before the $20 million cocaine bust in which the Nikolics and three crew were arrested.

Mr Shea parted ways with the Nikolics in Bora Bora, and was shocked to discover only on Friday what occurred weeks later.

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The crew of the boat Shenanigans — John and Yvette Nikolic, Jeffery Hassell and Mark Shea

Fijian authorities raided yacht Shenanigans piloted by Yvette and John Nikolic. Picture: Mark Stewart

“I could be in a prison in Fiji right now. I was very lucky,” he said.

“I got on in Tahiti and then sailed for a week to Bora Bora. To my surprise when we got there they told me they were going to get someone else on.

“I dodged a huge bullet being kicked off … for inexperience. In the end I was pretty happy with that, but I was in shock at first. It wasn’t a pleasant experience for me.”

The Nikolics responded to an advertisement that Mr Shea, 47, had placed looking for work.

He passed their interview and joined them sailing, snorkelling and eating seafood for nine days in the Pacific, from May 27 to June 4.

Yvette and another crew member.

John and Yvetter Nikolic were seen in Shea’s videos snorkelling before the drug arrest.

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He said he spent the entire time unaware of former horse trainer Nikolic’s past, knowing only that he had spent time in the racing industry.

In one video captured by Mr Shea, Nikolic and his wife wave to the camera while swimming through pristine coral reefs.

Also featured on social media is fellow crew member Jeffery Hassell of Hawaii, one of the five on board when the yacht was later raided.

Mr Shea said he had not seen any evidence of drugs or guns while he was on board, and in fact they were banned from drinking at sea.

Mark Shea joined the Nikolics in Tahiti and travelled with them to Bora Bora, before they continued without him to Fiji where they were arrested.

“It sounded like the trip of a lifetime,” he said.

“But once on board I was told not to go anywhere near their room. I’d love to know where they found the drugs.

“I had some concerns from the start, because they kept changing the time we were due to leave Tahiti. And I was annoyed when they changed the original plan for me to go all the way to Fiji.

“For me it was a good lesson that if you feel uncomfortable, to go with your gut feeling — even if it is the trip of a lifetime.”

Mr Shea said he was distressed to hear Lucie Claudie Orard, a French national who joined the crew in Bora Bora, had been taken into custody in the raid.

However, it was reported last week that the three crew the Nikolics had employed were released after questioning.

“It is pretty sad to hear … Lucie was as green as me, a young girl who was looking for adventure but caught up in someone else’s trouble,” Mr Shea said.

Yesterday John Nikolic’s distraught parents remained holed up in a cheap hotel in Lautoka, making their way between the local hospital caring for their desperately sick son and the women’s prison where daughter-in-law Yvette is being held.

It is believed Nikolic, 42, downed a toxic cocktail of liquid cocaine mixed with methamphetamine during the raid on his yacht.

Shea described the opportunity as “a trip of a lifetime” but in hindsight was glad the Nikolics asked him to leave in Bora Bora.

The boat the Nikolics were travelling on was called Shenanigans.

He is believed to still be in intensive care under police guard.

His family, the hospital, police and other authorities have refused to publicly provide a condition update.

Disgraced jockey Danny Nikolic, John’s brother, is also staying at the Lautoka Hotel, one of the cheapest accommodation options for tourists in the bustling Fijian town.

Danny and his mother, Karen, were yesterday seen carrying fruit, vegetables and other groceries into the hotel, suggesting the family is preparing to stay for a while.

The Nikolics enjoying themselves before being arrested in Fiji.

In October last year, John and Yvette Nikolic bought Shenanigans in the United States before sailing from Colombia to Panama and then across the Pacific, using hired crew.

When interviewed, prospective crew were told by the Nikolics that no alcohol was to be consumed on board as it was a “dry” boat.

The voyage ended dramatically on June 21 when the yacht was raided and all on board detained.

Fiji’s Revenue and Customs Service, which conducted the raid alongside police and other agencies, alleges 13 bars of cocaine worth as much as $20 million, 65 ecstasy tablets and $20,000 of undeclared cash were found on Shenanigans.

Nikolic taking the crew out on a smaller speedboat.

Nikolic snorkelling prior to the drug bust by Fijian authorities.

The Nikolics were said to be on the “trip of a lifetime” before their arrests.

Two handguns and 97 rounds of ammunition were also allegedly discovered on the Nikolics’ yacht.

Over the past decade, scandal has followed John Nikolic, culminating in 2015 when he was banned from training after he admitted doping a horse.

He has also been banned from racecourses and from Melbourne’s Crown casino.

On Friday, a Fijian human rights lawyer told the Sunday Herald Sun that “sources on the inside” had informed him Australian Federal Police had supplied intelligence to Fiji authorities about the Nikolics’ yacht before the raid.

Danny and Karen Nikolic pictured in Fiji to be by John Nikolic’s bedside. Picture: Mark Stewart

Danny Nikolic in Fiji. Picture: Mark Stewart