Rex Martinich
A man who joined a scheme to import $400 million worth of pure liquid methamphetamine in juice bottles has been jailed for at least six years.
Terry Gordon Stieler, 45, faced Brisbane Supreme Court for sentencing on Wednesday after pleading guilty to attempting to import a commercial quantity of drugs.
Canadian authorities intercepted the meth hidden in a shipment of hundreds of boxes of juice bottles that passed through Vancouver in June 2024, Justice Martin Burns heard.
More than 300 kilograms of meth was replaced with an inert substance and continued on its journey to Australia from Brazil.
The court was told Stieler was recruited after his housemate learnt he had a forklift licence.
He was seen by police handling boxes at a property at Jimboomba, south of Brisbane, while two other co-accused unloaded the juice shipment using a forklift in September 2024.
Stieler’s email address was also used to arrange the hire of a forklift.
Burns said he accepted Stieler had a lesser role in receiving the shipment than his two co-accused, whose charges are still before the court.
Prosecutors did not submit how much Stieler was going to be paid for his role.
But Burns was satisfied he stood to gain a benefit that was “sufficient to justify the grave risk you took”.
His sentence was mitigated by his early guilty plea, efforts at rehabilitation, and an abusive childhood.
“Offending of this type must be met with a severe sentence to deter not only you but others from engaging in such a high degree of criminality,” Burns said.
Stieler is already serving 8½ years in prison for multiple child sex offences, a sentence handed down two months after he was arrested over the attempted meth importation.
His drug sentence of 10 years commences on Wednesday.
He will be eligible to apply for parole after serving at least six years.
AAP
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