Update after cocaine washes up on beaches
A hard drive containing some of the evidence against a man who was allegedly the ringleader of a botched plan to import 900kg of cocaine into Australia has been handed over to his legal team, a court has been told.
Daniel Wayne John Roberts, 36, is alleged to be the Australian leader of a transnational organised crime organisation that primarily used sea routes to move the illegal product.
However, police allege a botched importation job saw multiple bricks of cocaine washing up on NSW beaches in recent months.
Mr Roberts was allegedly in charge of collecting and distributing the cocaine and other illicit drugs into Australia.
The Aspley man was arrested on April 17 and charged with seven offences relating to the importation of commercial quantities of drugs and dealing in proceeds of crime.
His matter was briefly mentioned on Friday in the Brisbane Magistrates Court alongside Mr Roberts’ two co-accused, Jacob John Furfaro and Thomas James Pfeffer.
Police will allege Mr Furfaro and Mr Pfeffer were also involved in the drug trafficking ring.
Commonwealth prosecutor Daniel Trigger told the court on Friday he had supplied a partial brief of evidence containing a hard drive to all three legal teams acting for the co-accused.
An eight-week adjournment was granted to allow the prosecution more time to finalise its brief of evidence, with the matter next listed for September 6 for further mention.
The Commonwealth will also further allege in court that Mr Roberts went by the names of WANTED and John Dillinger – the same name as the notorious US gangster during the Great Depression – when using dedicated encrypted communication platforms to contract out drug pick-up jobs.
Police have alleged Mr Roberts played a significant role in importing almost two tonnes of cocaine in the past year, which has an estimated total street value of $617.5 million.
He also allegedly failed to collect 900kg of cocaine off the coast of Queensland’s Moreton Island in November 2023 after bad weather impacted his plans.
Police further allege that failed importation plot saw at least 120 packages of drugs wash up on beaches along the NSW coast in late 2023 and early 2024.
Mr Roberts also allegedly facilitated the importation and collection of about 560kg of cocaine into WA’s Mid-West region in August 2023.
Mr Pfeffer was charged with one count of trafficking a commercial quantity of controlled drugs and one count of associating in support of serious organised criminal activity.
Mr Furfaro was charged with one count each of associating in support of serious organised criminal activity, dealing in proceeds of crime worth $1 million or more, possession of commercial quantities of unlawfully imported border controlled drugs, possession of controlled drugs and trafficking a commercial quantity of controlled drugs.
Mr Pfeffer and Mr Furfaro are both on bail and their matters remain before the court.
Mr Roberts, who is in custody on remand, is also charged with a further 12 state offences for allegedly using violence and threats to collect debts and intimidate rivals by engaging criminal associates to assault, firebomb, shoot at and extort his customers.
The court was told those charges will be sent to the committal callover list on July 15.
