5 B.C. men charged in Australian drug bust
Four B.C.men and a former resident of the province appeared in court in Australia on Thursday in connection with a drug bust involving cocaine and ecstasy allegedly smuggled in the back of computer monitors.
At least two of the accused are from the Abbotsford area, while police allege the container that held the drugs originated from the waterfront in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.
"Several months ago the Australian drug authorities contacted us here at the Vancouver Drug Section to ask to assist in their investigation," said RCMP Cpl. Pierre Lemaitre.
Australian police said the sweep on Wednesday represented the fifth-largest drug bust in the country's history, netting about 120,000 MDMA (ecstasy) tablets — with an estimated street value of $3.5 million Cdn — and 135 kilograms of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $30 million Cdn.
Dennis Paul Paddison, 40, a father of three from Abbotsford who is accused of smuggling the drugs, was the first of the five Canadians to appear Thursday in the court in Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland.
He appeared again later with the other four Canadians, who have been identified as Dereck Hotner, 34,also of Abbotsford; Dale Handlen, 40; Matthew Reed, 26; and Kelsey Nerbas, 28. Nerbas, who had been living in Australia, is a former resident of Kelowna, B.C.
None of the men entered a plea. All five remain in custody.
Police said they believe the Canadians and an Australian were involved in trying to smuggle drugs from B.C.'s Deltaport container terminal to Brisbane.
The Canadians were arrested in Brisbane while the sixth man, who is said to be a dual citizen of Australia and New Zealand and the alleged recipient of the haul, was taken into custody in Sydney, New South Wales.
'Wrong place at the wrong time': suspect's lawyer
The Canadians face a number of offences, including importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, while the Australian has been charged with two counts of conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
If convicted, they could face life in prison.
Paddison's lawyer, Peter Shields, gave few details when contacted by CBC News, but said his client intends to plead not guilty.
"He denies all allegations. He is simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and appears to be caught up in something of which he has no knowledge," Shields said.
Shields said Paddison was on vacation when arrested.
Paddison was charged in B.C. with running a marijuana grow-op two years ago, but the charges were stayed.
Part of international drug syndicate, police allege
Police said the drugs were discovered on Sept. 8 in a container that held about 420 computer monitors and the suspects were identified later.
The Australian Federal Police said they are investigating what could be an international drug syndicate.
"The AFP believes the people who have been arrested and charged in this operation were part of a highly sophisticated international drug importation and distribution network," said spokesman Mike Phelan.
"The AFP is currently liaising with its law enforcement colleagues in Canada and conducting further inquiries in relation to this significant importation and the international syndicate allegedly responsible for it."
Four months ago, Australian authorities seized 1.2 million ecstasy tablets from a container that also came from Canada. Police said that seizure was made in Melbourne and it resulted in the arrest of one man in Melbourne and three men in Sydney.