Queensland lovers jailed in Tasmania for carting cash and drugs in via Spirit of Tasmania

A Queensland couple has been jailed in Tasmania after they acted as couriers, carting in massive amounts of money and drugs into the state via the Spirit of Tasmania.

TWO Queensland lovers who’ve been in a relationship for the past 16 years will now spend years in a Tasmanian prison – after they were sprung carting massive quantities of cash and drugs in and out of the state via the ferry.

Meafou Leon Sipili, 43, and Candice Tapatuetoa, 38, originally hailed from New Zealand, but moved to Eight Mile Plains, Queensland, in 2016.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Tasmania heard Sipili and Tapatuetoa, a beautician, had worked in legitimate businesses, but that all changed when the pandemic hit – the pair lost work and started gambling.

Sipili started working for a “Ms B” in home and garden maintenance.

“Ms B, becoming aware of your situation, extended what you thought was generosity,” Justice Robert Pearce said while sentencing, adding she loaned the couple thousands of dollars and “a trip to Tasmania”.

The couple drove to Hobart and home again via the Spirit of Tasmania, unaware the car they were driving also contained tubs containing money from the proceeds of drug sales.

Two weeks later in February 2021, they drove to Tasmania and back again, this time “you knowingly took with you about $250,000 in cash”.

By this stage, the pair knew the money was proceeds of crime.

Tasmania Police and the Australian Federal Police began investigating the couple as part of “Operation Carnegie”.

The pair made another two trips to Tasmania last year.

“By this time, the police were covertly observing your movements,” Justice Pearce said.

During a trip in May, police searched their car on the ferry and found $594,000 in cash and almost 2kg worth of meth, which the judge said would be worth between $639,000 and $2 million.

“To preserve the integrity of the investigation, the items were photographed but not seized,” Justice Pearce said.

He said the cash was delivered partly to “Ms B”, partly to a person referred to as “TF” and partly to an industrial estate in Melbourne.

During a Tasmanian trip in May, police again searched the couple’s car on the ferry and found 642 grams of cocaine, which the judge said would be worth up to $320,000.

Drug paraphernalia like disposable gloves, duct tape, snaplock locks, petroleum jelly was also found in the searches.

Justice Pearce noted “Ms B” had threatened both Sipili and Tapatuetoa and their families if they stepped away from their role as couriers.

They each pleaded guilty to trafficking in a controlled substance and dealing with proceeds of crime.

Sipili was jailed for four years and seven months from May 2021, with a non-parole period of half that time.

Tapatuetoa was jailed for four years from May last year, with a non-parole period of two years.

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Originally published as Queensland lovers jailed in Tasmania for carting cash and drugs in via Spirit of Tasmania