The former sports star bought the RHIB, a trailer and equipment like a GPS system and satellite phone, all worth more than $100,000. She said Dru Baggaley was involved for longer, to a greater degree and recruited Draper, but Nathan played an "essential role". ![]() Justice Lyons found Nathan Baggaley was "actively involved in the attempted importation of cocaine" and was to receive a substantial reward for his services. The men retrieved bundles thrown off the ship but on their return flung them into the sea when pursued by an Australian navy vessel.īundles recovered at the time, together with those that washed ashore for months after, contained cocaine worth between $130 million and $200 million. She referred to a psychiatrist's report indicating his self-worth was enmeshed with sporting achievements and "that when you were banned you lost your income, career, reputation, friends and self-identity".ĭru Baggaley, 39, and a man he recruited, Anthony Draper, were arrested three years ago almost to the day after venturing more than 360 kilometres out to sea on a rigid-hulled inflatable boat to meet a foreign freighter carrying packages of cocaine. "It's clear that after a successful sporting career when it ends sportsmen who've achieved great prominence have great difficulty in adjusting to life outside that sporting arena." "There is a significant issue in relation to high performance athletes at end of their careers irrespective of how that career comes to an end. "I accept that the ban and the consequent negative media attention had devastating personal effects on you," she told him in handing down the sentence. Justice Lyons said Nathan Baggaley had achieved great prominence in sport, but his career ended in 2005 when he tested positive for enhancing drugs. Nathan Baggaley, 45, will have to serve 12 years in custody before he is eligible to apply for parole, while Dru Baggaley will be eligible to apply for parole after 16 years. The two brothers share a record of drug offenses and convictions.Brisbane Supreme Court Justice Ann Lyons sentenced Dru Baggaley, 39, to 28 years in jail. His brother received a 28-year sentence, also with the possibility of parole after 16 years.ĭraper was handed a reduced sentence of 13 years in exchange for testimony against the Baggaley brothers. Nathan Baggaley has been sentenced to 25 years of prison with the possibility of parole after 16 years. While Nathan was not aboard, courtroom evidence suggested that he was an active part of the plan and would have helped transport the drugs onto the mainland. ![]() According to local reports from the trial proceedings, the presiding judge, Justice Anne Lyons, said that she did not think either brother was at the top of a drug trafficking network but that both were motivated by financial gain. Pursued by the Australian Navy and Air Force and subsequently arrested by the Queensland Water Police, Dru and Draper were seen throwing the packages overboard.ĭefense lawyers suggested that Nathan Baggaley didn’t know the packages contained cocaine and thought the boat would be used to begin a whale-watching business, while his brother believed only that the packages contained tobacco. Nathan had been on the mainland communicating to his brother with an encrypted messaging app. On July 30, 2018, air surveillance captured footage of Dru loading their boat with dozens of packages from a foreign vessel with another man, Anthony Draper. He and his brother were caught three years ago trying to smuggle packages containing 512 kilograms of pure cocaine from an unidentified foreign vessel more than two hundred miles from the Australian coast. They were found guilty in April by a Brisbane Supreme Court jury for attempting to import more than US$152 million worth of cocaine.īrisbane Supreme Court (Photo: Kgbo, Wikimedia, License)A two-time silver medalist from Australia who also won several World Championships in sprint canoeing, Nathan had been used to blowing his competition out of the water - until his competition was the Australian Navy. Following a two week trial, former Olympic kayaker Nathan Baggaley and his brother, Dru Baggaley, were formally sentenced on Tuesday to 25 and 28 years in prison respectively.
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