A sexagenarian accused of smuggling millions of dollars worth of heroin into Australia from Southeast Asia is not involved in the world of organised crime, his lawyers have argued during a bail bid.
Barry James Calverley, 68, was arrested at Sydney Airport after he arrived on a flight from Vietnam on January 24.
Australian Border Force officers allegedly located 5kg of heroin, worth $2.25 million, concealed in his camp stretcher.
READ MORE: Person rushed to hospital after pulled from water at Sydney wave park
Calverley was denied bail at a NSW Supreme Court hearing today during which his lawyer, Phillip Ryan, said his client would fight the allegations.
“It’s definitely his intention to maintain a plea of not guilty,” Ryan said.
The 68-year-old would not be a risk of fleeing the jurisdiction due to his age and ties to the community, he said.
“I don’t think it’s the crown case that … he is someone who is ensconced in the organised crime network,” Ryan said.
In refusing bail, Justice Belinda Rigg said the case against Calverley appeared to be relatively strong.
“I accept that this isn’t the most serious or sophisticated instance of an offence of this kind, but it is nonetheless an extremely serious offence,” she said.
Ryan said a trial would not likely take place until 2025, when Calverley planned to contest a charge of importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
READ MORE: Search for three men after series of thefts at Canberra cemetery
The maximum penalty for the crime is life imprisonment.
By the time a trial started, Calverley would likely have spent more than 12 months behind bars, which Ryan argued was “a significant period of time in custody for someone of his age and health difficulties”.
“It would be more optimal for him to be at liberty to obtain access, more readily available access, to health supports in the community,” he said.
But prosecutors argued Calverley’s medical history of having skin cancers removed in 2020, and experiencing gastrointestinal problems and a raised heartbeat while in custody, were not serious enough to warrant his release.
Those medical conditions were largely unsupported by evidence and appeared to be relatively common and mild, the court was told.
Calverley’s daughter was willing to pay a bail surety of $5000 and to accompany her father back to his home in Western Australia, where he normally lived with his wife of 31 years.
He is due to be formally arraigned on the charge later in the year.
links to content on ABC
9News
