Perth court hears £40m drug smuggling attempt linked to Jersey

Tuesday 15 February 2022

A court in Australia has heard that an audacious £40m drug smuggling attempt there had strong links to Jersey.

Scott Felix Jones, Angus Bruce Jackson, Jason Lassiter are on trial in Perth accused of attempting to receive almost 900kg of cocaine, crystal meth and ecstasy that were found on an island off Geraldton, Western Australia, in September 2019.

The trial in Australia, which started last week and is expected to last a month, concerns the alleged landing party, who were set to receive the drugs, which arrived in a yacht at the remote Abrolhos Islands.

Prosecutor Darren Renton told the court that phones taken off the three men were linked to a man who lived in Jersey, and an analysis of call records indicated that, around the time the alleged importation was discovered, the man had sent text messages asking, “Where are you?” and, “What's your position?”

When interviewed by police, they said they had gone to the islands to snorkel, fish and drink, with one of them describing it as a “boys’ trip” and another saying they were “cruising about, drinking a few beers”.

They all deny knowing two men who were found on the same island as the drugs, who police believe sailed the boat.

The failed attempt made international headlines in 2019.

On 3 September that year, the yacht ‘Zero’ struck a reef about 4.3 miles from Burton Island in the Abrolhos archipelago, which is around 40 miles to the west of Geraldton, 260 miles north of Perth. A search was conducted after the empty boat was spotted with its dinghy missing.

As planes searched for the missing crew, a pair of cray fishermen spotted two men on Burton Island ducking down to hide in low scrub every time an aircraft flew overhead.

When police arrived, the two men made a run for their dinghy but they were stopped in their tracks after waking a huge elephant seal. Facing the wrath of the giant mammal or arrest, they decided to give up the chase and surrender to the authorities. 

Police found almost a tonne of cocaine and ecstasy in 40 bags hidden under seaweed. 

Offering advice to the pair, Police Commissioner Chris Dawson told the press at the time: “If you're in a hot pink shirt, don't try and hide in low scrub.”

Meanwhile, on another nearby island, a small RIB carrying the three accused had to be pulled off rocks by fishermen after it also ran aground, like the yacht.

According to media reports of the case, Mr Renton alleged that the three men were in the area as part of the drug-importation plan.

“It was part of a criminal venture to rendez-vous with another vessel to collect precious cargo of border-controlled drugs,” he told the court.

“The case is an attempted possession because, despite having done everything to prepare to take possession, they failed to meet up because they ran aground on a reef.”

Jones, Jackson and Lassiter were arrested days later as they drove back to Perth.

The case continues.