Cocaine bust charges against David John Pfeffer, Mark Frederick Sutton in Hervey Bay Magistrates Court
Explosive charges against two of 13 arrested over an alleged record-breaking cocaine importation bid off K’gari have returned to court in the case linked to a high-ranking Brisbane bikie and South America. LATEST, VIDEO.
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Conspiracy to import cocaine charges against two Wide Bay men accused of helping bring $700m of the drug into Australia have been mentioned in court on Wednesday.
Police say the failed bid to smuggle the cocaine from South America to Queensland had bikie links and involved an international syndicate that had tried twice – with their boats breaking down both times.
As shocking images of the haul being unloaded at the Hervey Bay marina emerged at the weekend, 13 men and juveniles were arrested- each charged with one count of conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs contrary to section 307.1, by virtue of section 11.5, of the Criminal Code.
Among them was David John Pfeffer, 35 from Isis and Dundowran man Mark Frederick Sutton, 57 whose charges were listed for mention in the Hervey Bay Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning.
Mr Pfeffer, sporting scruffy long black hair and a full beard, appeared via videolink from the Maryborough watchhouse, and his lawyer, Mark Butler, who dialled in by phone, applied to have the case transferred to Brisbane.
Also dialling in via phone, Ms Finnegan for the Commonwealth DPP, explained the plan was for all 13 cases to be transferred to Brisbane for mention on the same day next year but they were “slowly making their way over there because there’s different court appearances for different defendants”.
Magistrate Trinity McGarvie queried whether inquiries had been made with the Brisbane registry on whether it could accommodate 13 extra matters on the one day and Ms Finnegan said they had, and February 7 would be a “good date” as it was Commonwealth call over day in Court 21.
No application for bail was made but Mr Butler said he would speak to his client in the meantime about a possible bail application for the next court date.
Mr Sutton’s appearance was excused, his lawyer Farshard Sarabi of Hannay lawyers, appeared on his behalf via phone and also applied for the case to be transferred to Brisbane.
He said he did not wish to make a bail application “at this time”.
Both men were remanded in custody and their charges will next be mentioned in Brisbane on February 7, 2025.
Andrew John Bamforth, Comanchero vice-president Ryan Sean Givney, Geovani Marius, Riccardo Marius, Nukutawhiti Tenika Matika, Zaquias Jack Matika, Daniel Schieven and Donald Vilaylath were mentioned in Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Monday.
They were remanded in custody to December 5.
Mr Givney applied to be released on bail but was denied. A woman supporting him was in the court and declined to comment on leaving.
The court heard from Mr Givney’s lawyer Adam Moschella that the case against Mr Givney, a 44-year-old father from North Cleveland, was “weak”.
It heard that at the time of the bust, Mr Givney was on parole for an eight year sentence for drug trafficking offences from 2018.
Mr Moschella argued that much of Mr Givney’s alleged role in the drug operation appeared to have been coincidental.
He stated that there was “nothing concrete” connecting Mr. Givney to the co-accused, aside from his proximity to the location where the alleged offence occurred.
Magistrate John McInnes denied bail, citing an unacceptable risk that Mr. Givney might reoffend or fail to attend future court hearings.
The matters are set to return to the Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Thursday.
Meanwhile, at the Hervey Bay Marina on Monday, the boat alleged to be at the centre of the sting sat silently, docked on a publicly-accessible jetty with no tape or barriers to the public.
Signs of life included the remnants of a tuna dinner on deck.
Local residents and visitors were still trying to come to terms with the events of the weekend.
Hayden Jordan was in Hervey Bay visiting his parents when he heard the town had become the epicentre of national news.
“I couldn’t believe it when I first heard it. I was in shock,” he said.
“We go out fishing a lot, but we’ve never seen anything as crazy as this.
“We’ve caught a few undersized fish, but not 2000kg of cocaine.
“For this to get pulled up here in the backyard is pretty crazy.”
For Anthony Jackson, a Hervey Bay resident of 40 years, the incident had left him “gobsmacked”.
“This is not quite Hervey Bay and what it used to be,” he said.
“When you see something like this it’s eye-opening.
“It’s a shame because this place used to be a sleepy little fishing village.”
Australian Federal Police Commander Stephen Jay alleged earlier in the day that two of the people arrested in Bundaberg were Comancheros.
"One of them we will allege is the vice president of the Brisbane chapter of the Comancheros.
"The two gentlemen on the boat were working (allegedly) on behalf of this syndicate, including obviously the Comancheros."
Commander Jay said investigators did not expect the vessel to break down.
"They certainly didn't," he said.
He said police would allege that the syndicate had previously attempted to use another vessel and it had broken down as well.
"They had spent, late last week, $150,000 to purchase a new vessel so it demonstrates the access to cash.
"With this particular matter we will allege this syndicate had made two attempts with two different boats, both of which have broken down, which goes to the point around just how dangerous it is to do what we will allege what this syndicate attempted to do."
“In the past week the AFP, QPS and Australian Border Force tracked a recreational fishing boat, recently purchased by a 35-year-old man, as it travelled to sea, where it allegedly met a mothership to collect the cocaine, before returning towards the Queensland coastline,” the AFP said.
The AFP alleged the fishing boat, which is called True Grit and is believed to have been a former water police vessel, then became stranded about 18km off the northeastern tip of K’Gari in what was believed to be a mechanical failure.
Commander Jay said it was understood the men were stranded for a few hours in the broken down boat before their arrest.
The recreational vessel was alleged to be heading back to Bundaberg when it broke down off the coast of K'gari.
He said the mother vessel was in international waters.
"I think suffice to say a quantity of drugs this large would have been distributed across the entire country," he said.
"And obviously a syndicate such as the Comancheros outlaw motorcycle gang provide a means through which that would occur.
"So we allege that would be part of it, that they were part of the plan to distribute it across the country."
Commander Jay said the people alleged to be involved in the syndicate were known to police.
"These syndicates are very nebulous – they move a fair bit – so the actual investigation as it stands went for a month but suffice to say they were known to us and Queensland police," he said.
"It was good work and there was perhaps a degree of good luck that it all played out, (with) the timing that it did. You're right, quite often these could take years, this has been a very quick operation with exceptional results.
13 FACING CHARGES OVER 2.34 TONNES OF COCAINE
The Australian Federal Police has charged 11 men and two juveniles following an investigation into a transnational organised crime syndicate accused of conspiring to import 2.34 tonnes of cocaine into Australia by sea.
The men, including the crew of a vessel allegedly attempting to import the illicit drugs into Queensland and multiple parties waiting on shore to collect the cocaine, were arrested on Saturday night, November 30, and in the early hours of Sunday morning, December 1, 2024, following a joint investigation between the AFP and Queensland Police Service.
The AFP will allege one of the men arrested on Saturday night was the vice-president of the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle club’s Brisbane chapter.
Police said it was the largest seizure of cocaine in Australia.
The cocaine had an estimated street value of about $760 million dollars with the potential to equate to 11.7 million individual street deals, had it reached the community.
The investigation, codenamed Operation Tyrrendor, began in November, 2024, following intelligence that a criminal syndicate with links to the Comanchero motorcycle crime gang was planning to import border-controlled drugs into Australia.
In the past week the AFP, QPS and Australian Border Force (ABF), tracked a recreational fishing boat, recently purchased by a 35-year-old man, as it travelled to sea, where it allegedly met a mothership to collect the cocaine, before returning towards the Queensland coastline.
When the fishing boat became stranded about 18km off the northeastern tip of K’gari due to a suspected mechanical breakdown on Saturday, the AFP and QPS initiated multiple arrests at sea, in the Bundaberg region and Brisbane.
Two members of a group planning to collect the drugs onshore, men aged 43 and 44, were arrested by QPS tactical officers in the vicinity of the Strathdees Boat Ramp, near the Port of Bundaberg, about 7pm on Saturday.
51 BALES FOUND WITH NETTING AROUND THEM
About 7.40pm, AFP tactical officers boarded the stranded recreational fishing boat off K’gari and arrested the two men on board, aged 35 and 57.
A search of the vessel allegedly found 51 bales with roped netting around them.
Each bale contained about 40kg of a white substance packaged in individual 1kg blocks.
The substance returned a presumptive positive result for cocaine.
The total estimated gross weight of the suspected cocaine located is 2.34 tonnes, which is the largest amount of cocaine seized by the AFP.
Further forensic testing will determine the exact weight and purity of the alleged cocaine.
QPS Water Police towed the stricken vessel to a marina in Hervey Bay.
WHO IS AMONG THOSE CHARGED?
About 7.50pm, three men, aged 20, 22 and 28 were arrested near a fast food restaurant in Bundaberg East.
Three more men, aged 20, 28 and 34, and two juveniles, were arrested following a traffic stop near Link Road, Bundaberg East about 9pm on Saturday.
In Brisbane, the AFP and QPS executed a search warrant at a house in Victoria Point and arrested the 51-year-old male resident of this address.
The 11 men and two juveniles are alleged to be members of the criminal syndicate and were each charged with:
One count of conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs contrary to section 307.1, by virtue of section 11.5, of the Criminal Code (Cth).
The maximum penalty is life imprisonment.
The men appeared before the following courts o December 2, 2024:
Maryborough Magistrates Court:
35-year-old man from Isis Central; and
57-year-old man from Dundowran.
Bundaberg Magistrates Court:
44-year-old man from North Cleveland;
43-year-old man from Mansfield;
34-year-old man from Springfield;
20-year-old man from Edens Landing;
28-year- old man from Heritage Park;
28-year-old man from Lota;
20-year-old man from Slacks Creek; and
22-year-old man from Slacks Creek.
Cleveland Magistrates Court:
51-year-old man from Victoria Point.
The investigation was also assisted with intelligence provided by the NSW Crime Commission.
Queensland Police Service Detective Acting Chief Superintendent Craig Morrow, said the success of Operation Tyrrendor demonstrated the extraordinary commitment and resources QPS dedicated to combating organised crime.
“Our strong relationships with partner agencies nationally and internationally remains crucial in the fight against organised crime,” Acting Chief Superintendent Craig Morrow said.
“By pooling resources, intelligence, and expertise, we are delivering impactful results and enhancing community safety.
“I’d like to acknowledge the dedication, expertise and tireless efforts of our officers involved in Operation Tyrrendor and our specialist areas including Drug and Serious Crime Group, Organised Crime Gangs Group, Water Police, Special Emergency Response Team, Public Safety Response Team and local Wide Bay police.
ABF Acting Assistant Commissioner James Copeman said this successful operation was yet another example of Australian law enforcement agencies working together to protect the Australian community.
The operation is understood to have unfolded about 10 nautical miles off K’gari, with the cocaine estimated to have a street value of up to $1 billion.
A video posted to social media showed the boat moored just metres away from the popular Hervey Bay Boat Club at the Urangan Harbour as AFP officers search inside in the vessel. The video showed officers loading items into the back of a truck.
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