A Queensland husband and wife drug courier team who were part of the biggest drug-trafficking operation in Tasmanian history were jailed for a total of nearly nine years in the Supreme Court in Launceston.
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Meafou Leon Sipili, 42, and Candice Tapatuetoa, 38, of Queensland, both pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court in April to dealing with the proceeds of crime, namely $250,000, on February 16 last year.
They also pleaded guilty to trafficking in a controlled substance, namely ice, cocaine and ketamine between April 1, and May 22, 2021.
The court heard that the Samoan-born, New Zealand nationals could face deportation from Australia.
The 1.99kg of ice, cocaine and ketamine they trafficked would have had a street value of up to $2.4 million if sold in $100 deals of 0.1 grams.
Their crimes were detected by a major Australian Federal Police and Tasmania Police operation.
Operation Carnegie had already resulted in the jailing for 34 months of Kylie Ann Durban and possible trials of two other women and a man.
Justice Robert Pearce suppressed several names because of upcoming trials.
Ms Durban who was part of the same syndicate was arrested on the Bass Highway at Deloraine carrying drugs and cash worth $2 million.
Justice Pearce said Siplili and Tapatuetoa made four trips to Tasmania including one paid for by a drug syndicate head from Queensland, Ms B, aimed at leveraging the couple into being couriers.
Ms B lent Sipili $3000 when she became aware that he had gambling problems.
Ms B, came to Tasmania in February last year. The couple met her in Hobart and police used a GPS to track their movements as well as surveilling Ms B.
On February 16, the couple and a number of others counted $250,000 cash in a Hobart hotel and took photographs. The couple transported the cash which they knew to be the proceeds of crime to a property at Broadbeach Waters in Queensland.
In April, Ms B contacted the couple using a mobile phone with an encryption application called Wickr and told them to take drugs to Tasmania in a white utility.
On April 2, police on board the Spirit of Tasmania did a covert search of the utility and found cryovacced drugs, snaplock bags, petroleum jelly in Baby Bunting bags and a total of 1.99kg of ice.
Inside various bags were amounts of 570 grams, 10oz and 5oz of ice as well as two separate bags with 500 grams of ice. Police returned the drugs to the vehicle and the couple travelled to the Brighton Hotel near Hobart. Ms B instructed them to put the drugs in a pillow slip and make contact with sellers.
On April 9, police searched a toolbox in a Mazda utility they were driving and found $280,000 in cryovacced bundles of $50,000 and $30,000 marked M for Ms B and $314,000 marked with a B for the "Big Boss". Of the total of $594,000 the couple dropped $75,000 to a "very dangerous redhead with a lot of tattoos" in Melbourne.
On their fourth trip on May 22, the couple were drug-screened by a drug detector dog at the Spirit of Tasmania terminal in Devonport.
The Holden Rodeo they drove was searched and three grey-taped bags seized and a black-taped bag.
The couple were arrested and made phone calls to Ms B.
Justice Pearce said pre-packaged bags containing drugs were found.
The bags contained a total of 642 grams of cocaine worth up to $320,000 if sold in 0.1-gram deals and ketamine worth $6500. The ice was worth up to $2 million.
The court heard in a previous hearing that the couple received threats to their families from the syndicate if they withdrew.
Justice Pearce said Sipili was incrementally drawn into the operation. He said that the couple received $20,000 for one trip and $5000 for a second trip.
He said Sipili's very active participation in the syndicate did not feel like it was motivated by fear.
Justice Pearce said that Tapatuetoa, a nail therapist, had also been a problem gambler.
He said that a substantial jail term was the only appropriate penalty.
"Methylamphetamine does terrible harm in the community and generates significant further crime," he said.
"Couriers play a vital role, drug dealers who make high profits from drug dealing depend on couriers."
Justice Pearce discounted both defendants' sentences by 20 per cent because of their willingness to give evidence in an upcoming trial in Tasmania of Ms B although the Crown could not say how valuable their evidence would be.
The court heard that the identity of a senior member of the syndicate TF had been established but no proceedings were underway.
He warned the couple that if they failed to co-operate they could be brought back and resentenced upon appeal.
Justice Pearce said the couple's sentences were comparatively higher than Durban because they made more trips.
He sentenced Sipili to four years and seven months' jail from May 2021.
"But for your co-operation you would have received a sentence of five years and nine months," he said.
Tapatuetoa received a sentence of four years' jail which would have been five years, but for co-operation.
Both would be eligible for parole after half their sentences.
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