The key witness in the case of an alleged cocaine importation has lied to the police with his version turning out to be false. Mr. Anthony Draper, of Sydney, is a key witness against his co-accused Dru Baggaley in relation to the failed attempt to allegedly import a large quantity of cocaine. It was stated in court that “It has become clear that Anthony Draper has lied to the police and falsely put all the blame onto Dru when in fact Mr. Draper is the one who tricked Dru”. Mr. Draper was captured on a secret recording speaking to another unknown man.
Mr. Draper is heard saying, “Yeah, I setup Dru, it is what it is. He had no idea he was involved in coke he thought it was tobacco…he wasn’t supposed to come out to sea but my mate pulled out last minute so I had to get Dru on the boat as I needed help out at sea”. The unknown male is heard asking Mr. Draper, “Yeah, but what’s the go didn’t you talk to the police and blame Dru so he copped it all and you got away with f**k all” to which Mr. Draper replied, “Yeah I gave the police a bullshit story and blamed it all on Dru…I told Dru to shut his mouth…I had too I’m not well enough to do years and years in gaol I would die in gaol”. Mr. Draper goes on to tell this unknown male that he didn’t feel great about blaming Dru but he thought that Dru would beat his trial and be released from gaol. Due to the rules of trial this secret recoding is not able to be played to the jury.
Mr. Baggaley’s lawyers made submissions to the court that an exception should be made due to the value and power of this evidence as the recordings clearly exonerate Dru. Mr. Draper pleaded guilty to a reduced charge and reduced role on the basis he agreed to testify in court against Dru. Mr. Draper received a large reduction on his sentence for agreeing to give evidence against Dru and received 4 years in prison. Dru Baggaley was convicted at his first trial and initially sentenced to 28 years in gaol but his conviction was recently overturned and he was granted a retrial after the Queensland Court of Appeal agreed that both Dru and his brother Nathan suffered a significant miscarriage of justice due to a number of unfair and unallowable factors that should not have been allowed to occur at their first trial. Dru Baggaley’s legal representatives have told the court that, “Mr. Draper recruited Dru and he told Dru the plan was for tobacco not drugs. Mr. Draper has made admissions that he tricked Dru and set him up.
Mr. Draper was able to trick the police into accepting his false story which put all the blame onto Dru and if Mr. Draper can trick experienced police investigators then it’s clear he did the same to Dru”. Recently there have been a number of reports and reviews conducted in relation to the importation of illicit tobacco which state that tobacco importation is ten times more valuable than cocaine importation. Authorities are increasingly seeing organised crime groups moving towards importing tobacco over drugs due to the high profits and low penalties. Australia has some of the highest excise taxes on tobacco in the world which results in consumers paying well over $50 for a packet of cigarettes.
Organised crime groups can purchase a packet of legitimate cigarettes for as little as $1-2 and then import these cigarettes without declaring them and without paying the taxes. A packet of illegally imported cigarettes sells for as little as $15 and are sold under the counter at most tobacconists and corner stores. In order for Dru Baggaley to be convicted the jury will have to accept Mr. Draper’s evidence which is unlikely given that the first trial judge stated that, “Mr. Draper is a completely unreliable witness he gave three or four different versions …I just can’t accept anything he says”. Dru Baggaley’s claim of tobacco only needs to be possible and he must be acquitted.
The joint trial for Dru and Nathan Baggaley is set down for October this year and is expected to go for a maximum of two weeks.