Disgraced Aussie Olympian jailed over failed $200m cocaine smuggling plot

Disgraced Olympian Nathan Baggaley has learnt his fate after an ill-fated plot to smuggle $200m worth of cocaine into Australia.

Disgraced Olympic kayaker Nathan Baggaley and his brother, Dru, have each been jailed for more than 20 years over a failed plot to smuggle up to $200m worth of cocaine into Australia.

The brothers were found guilty by a jury earlier this year of attempting to import the drugs through the northern NSW coast in July 2018 in a move a prosecutor said was “motivated by greed”.

Nathan Baggaley.

Dru Baggaley.

At the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Justice Ann Lyons sentenced Nathan to 25 years’ jail with a non-parole period of 16 years.

Dru received a 28-year jail term with a non-parole period of 16 years.

A large crowd of supporters sat quietly in the public gallery during the afternoon’s proceedings.

The court was told Dru, 39, collected the cocaine from a ship off the NSW coast with another man, Anthony Draper, after the pair rode hundreds of kilometres out to sea in an inflatable boat on July 30, 2018.

Nathan, 45, was on the mainland communicating with Dru using an encrypted phone app.

Dru Baggaley and another man were arrested after a high seas chase where bundles of cocaine were thrown into the ocean as authorities pursued them.

He had previously purchased the boat and had decked it out with navigation and satellite equipment, as well as covering the registration with black tape.

Nathan’s fingerprints were found on the tape.

During a dramatic boat chase with authorities, Dru and Draper dumped bundles of cocaine wrapped in black plastic overboard before being arrested.

Crown prosecutor Ben Power said both brothers were motivated by “greed” and stood to gain substantial sums of money from the endeavour.

Mr Power told the court the pair knew there was a “very large quantity of cocaine” to be delivered based on texts between the two.

He said the motivation for the crime “can only be explained, to put it bluntly, by greed”.

A supporter of brothers Nathan and Dru Baggaley gestures outside the Supreme Court in Brisbane. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Conversely, the prosecution said Draper was an unwitting participant who was recruited by Dru.

Draper last year pleaded guilty to attempting to import cocaine and was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

During the trial he gave evidence against the brothers.

“He (Draper) was sentenced on the basis that he was not aware that he was involved in the trafficking of cocaine until he was out at sea at the very boat,” Mr Power told the court.

Mr Power said this was an “important aspect” that revealed who was a major player in the operation.

Although Nathan was not on the boat which attempted to transport the huge quantity of cocaine ashore, Justice Lyons found he was “actively engaged and intended to be at the boat ramp not only to meet the rig but also to take possession as you facilitate its movement”.

She said Dru was involved in the plan for longer than his brother and had recruited Draper to take part in the voyage, however Nathan committed a serious offence and “that needs to be punished”.

“I accept that neither of you are at the apex of the drug distribution hierarchy given the evidence that money was supplied by others, but you clearly played an important role,” she said.

“I also accept that each of you received a reward and you motivation clearly was for financial gain.”

Tuesday’s sentencing compounds Nathan’s spectacular fall from grace as a former kayaking world champion and Olympic silver medallist.

Nathan Baggaley during the men's K1 500 final, flat water event at the 2004 Olympic Games in Schinias near Athens, Greece.

The court was told Nathan’s sport career effectively ended in 2005 after he tested positive for banned steroids and he had a history of chronic depression

“The ban and negative media attention devastated you... it cast a dark shadow over you as your self-worth was meshed with your sporting achievements,” Justice Lyons said.

Dru’s lawyers said he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after a traumatic experience as a youth.