Jarryd Kenneth Simpson convicted of drug trafficking in south east Queensland

A “fictitious” Sunshine Coast cleaning business and tapped phone calls have been uncovered in the trial of a convicted drug trafficker, who supplied millions of dollars worth of illicit substances from the Gold Coast to Maroochydore.

The scales of justice stature outside Brisbane Supreme Court in the Brisbane CBD. Picture: NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

A “fictitious” Sunshine Coast cleaning business, codewords and tapped phone calls have been uncovered in the trial of a convicted drug trafficker, who supplied millions of dollars worth of illicit substances from the Gold Coast to Maroochydore.

Jarryd Kenneth Simpson was charged with one count of trafficking in dangerous drugs with serious organised crime circumstance of aggravation, to which he pleaded not guilty.

His plea of guilty to trafficking in dangerous drugs was not accepted by the Crown and the matter was listed for trial.

Simpson appeared before a judge-only trial in the Supreme Court of Queensland, which took place over four days in November, with the verdict delivered on Friday, November 29.

Agreed facts state Simpson trafficked a large quantity of drugs to 30 different suppliers from the Gold Coast to Maroochydore between August, 2016, and October, 2017.

That included 958.7kg of cannabis, 2kg of Cocaine and 16,210 MDMA pills, providing at least $4.2m in revenue.

Simpson hid the trafficking by creating a business named “Sunny Coast Cleaning”, which included a website and branded vehicle.

Simpson and his interstate cocaine supplier were located by police in an apartment in Admiralty Towers, near Brisbane’s CBD, along with an industrial-sized cocaine machine press and various different drugs on October 8, 2017.

Brisbane Supreme Court.

The prosecution alleged Simpson ordered two men to carry out certain duties, making them a serious organised crime group, and provided a series of recorded phone calls between the three men.

One man, who was employed with the Noosa Council at the time, is described in the documents by the prosecution as the “enforcer and/or debt collector” who was allegedly ordered by Simpson to hire and lease cars to carry out jobs.

“The Defendant held (the man) as a person who would use violence when needed and it does not matter whether actual violence was used in respect of the issue of whether a “group” existed or not,” the prosecution stated.

The prosecution alleged the second man was the bookkeeper, who created an encrypted messaging account for the trio to use.

A phone call recording states Simpson told the first man to “go nuts”, and on another occasion offered him $500 to punch someone.

“They discussed money that is owing, and the Defendant gives (him) permission to “go nuts”: including “I thought I’d speak with you first ... go nuts mate.” the documents stated.

“The Defendant says, “go to war with me… gonna get blood …tonight” and (the man) replies again to come get him.”

Simpson also offered the first man his “bug detector” to check if his home had listening devices and on a separate occasion told him Mooloolaba to Caloundra was a “no go-zone”.

Brisbane Supreme Court.

In the court documents from the hearing, the first man denied having used any violence or seizing vehicles from customers, and told police Simpson called another group referred to as “suicide squad bikies” to intimidate people.

“(The man) told police in a previous interview that he had not belted anyone for nearly 20 years. He also said that the Defendant “just call[ed] the suicide squad bikies for his intimidation, thankfully,” the documents stated.

Simpson did not contest the second man mentioned was employed by the trafficking business but stated the conversations recorded between him and the first man were “rambling conversations between mates”.

Ultimately Justice Frances Williams found Simpson not guilty of the trafficking in dangerous drugs with serious organised crime circumstance of aggravation charge, but she did find him guilty on the alternative charge of trafficking in dangerous drugs.

Justice Williams said the circumstance of aggravation alleged by the prosecution, namely the trafficking business, had not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt and there was not enough evidence to confirm the second man worked for Simpson.

Originally published as Jarryd Kenneth Simpson convicted of drug trafficking in south east Queensland