The brother of Olympic silver medalist Nathan Baggaley will remain behind bars as he awaits trial over a failed $200 million drug smuggling plot after successfully winning an appeal to overturn his convictions.
Dru Baggaley, 42, and his older brother, Nathan Baggaley, were sentenced to more than 20 years in prison each after being found guilty in 2021 of attempting to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
Olympic kayaker Nathan Baggaley (left) and his brother Dru (right) were allegedly involved in the failed drug smuggling plot.
Both men have since successfully appealed their convictions, with the Queensland Court of Appeal overturning the original verdict for Nathan and ordering a retrial on Friday.
In December, Dru was also granted a new trial scheduled for November.
However, he lost his third attempt at bail on Monday in the Brisbane Supreme Court when Judge Melanie Hindman rejected his latest application.
Judge Hindman said she had found Dru ran an “unacceptable risk” of failing to appear in court if he was released on bail after spending six years in custody.
He said if a jury found him guilty a second time, he faced an additional 10 years in prison without parole if convicted.
Federal police arrested Dru Baggaley and Anthony Draper at sea (pictured)
The court was told that despite a $50,000 surety given on his behalf, Dru posed a potential flight risk despite not having a passport.
Dru and another man, Anthony Draper, allegedly recovered plastic packets of cocaine (estimated at around 600kg) from a foreign cargo ship 360 kilometers off the Queensland coast in an inflatable boat.
It is further alleged that packages of cocaine were thrown into the ocean when Dru and Draper attempted to avoid authorities during a chase at sea.
Judge Hindman said both Dru and Draper accused each other of being the organizers of the failed drug smuggling, with Dru claiming he believed the packages they were collecting contained tobacco.
Nathan Baggaley (pictured) was originally sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.
The court was told that ownership of a phone used during drug smuggling would play a vital role in evidence ahead of Dru’s upcoming trial.
“It appears that whoever owned the phone knew the substance was cocaine,” Judge Hindman said.
‘The plaintiff’s argument, among other things, is that Draper was the instigator of the plot and was told that the substance being imported was tobacco.
‘There is evidence that Draper contacted the applicant after the offense and effectively admitted that he misled the applicant into believing the substance was tobacco.
‘The applicant will testify at trial, among other things, that he thought the packages contained tobacco, that he did not know it was cocaine, that the phone in question was not his, and that he is not the main instigator of the importation plot.
‘The path to plaintiff’s conviction is not easy in light of the evidence currently available.
“The jury would have to be satisfied that Draper’s ‘confessions’ could not possibly be true, the phone belonged to the applicant and/or the applicant knew or was reckless in knowing that the substance was cocaine.”
The court was told Dru was also facing new charges after a contraband mobile phone was discovered in his prison cell in January this year.
Judge Hindman said Dru had since been charged after prison officers allegedly searched his cell and found the device in the sewage system after Dru had allegedly flushed it down the toilet.
The court was told Dru intended to fight these charges.
Police allegedly found cocaine worth about $200 million (pictured) during the raid
Despite Dru staying clean of drugs while in prison, Judge Hindman said there was an unacceptable risk that he would breach his bail conditions if he was released from prison.
‘Ultimately, I accept the thrust of the Crown’s submissions that the applicant’s criminal record and alleged offenses committed in both 2018 and 2024, although he is presumed innocent of those charges, appear to me to reflect the intention of someone to engage in drug trafficking. -related commercial activities for profit,’ he said.
‘The offense is high-level, brazen and determined.
“It reflects a determined and motivated person to do whatever is necessary to achieve his stated objectives, which, together with the boat aspect of the alleged crime, suggests, in my opinion, that the risks regarding escape and future violations They are here more real than apparent.’
Draper was sentenced to 13 years in prison for his role in the smuggling plot and gave evidence against the brothers at their criminal trial.
The 2021 jury determined that Dru was the main organizer of the plot.
Nathan was sentenced to 25 years in prison, while Dru received a 28-year jail term before the verdicts were overturned following their successful appeals.
Court of Appeal Judge David Boddice will publish his reasons for granting Nathan’s appeal at a later date.