Former Coast restaurateur led police to drug boat

[Guest Urbanhog]

This was in the my newspaper yesterday

 

Sunday Mail (QLD)

Edition 2 - State - Main CountrySUN 15 DEC 2002, Page 041

 

Former Coast restaurateur led police to drug boat Scuppered

By Kay Dibben

 

AUSTRALIAN Federal Police helped crack an international crime syndicate when they investigated the activities of former Sunshine Coast restaurateur and drug-runner Luc Gaborit.

 

Their investigations led to the arrest in the United States of Gaborit and an accomplice, who were caught with almost 1000kg of cannabis resin on a yacht in Florida.

 

Now the federal police have been rewarded for their efforts with the hand-over of $100,000 by US authorities -- Australia's share of the seized drug money.

 

Brisbane-based federal agent Peter Bodel said Gaborit, 39, from Coolum, admitted he had been running drugs into the US for 15 years, apart from a ``break'' in 1995 when he owned a restaurant at Mooloolaba.

 

Federal police began investigating Gaborit in early 2000 after receiving information.

 

Mr Bodel said police discovered that funds from an account linked to Gaborit had been transferred to a Florida yacht brokerage, run by a man later arrested for supplying yachts used for drug importation into the US.

 

In 1998 Gaborit and American Cesar Roberto Schatz bought the 15m sloop Imagine through the Florida yacht brokerage.

 

Mr Bodel said police later were able to prove, through handwriting analysis, Gaborit's involvement in the false registration in Australia of the same yacht, which was renamed Samba with a fictitious owner's name.

 

He said surveillance on Gaborit helped identify links to others involved in a drug-trafficking syndicate operating in the US, UK and South America.

 

In April 2000 the Samba was sailed from the US to the Bahamas and the following month Gaborit rented a canal-side house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Mr Bodel said Gaborit then went to the Bahamas, where he helped load the Samba with almost 1000kg of compressed cannabis.

 

Gaborit and Schatz, who were under surveillance by US authorities, sailed back to Florida where they were arrested.

 

Gaborit later told Mr Bodel and federal agent Paul Shanley, who went to the US to question him, that the plan had been to moor the Samba beside the house and then unload the drugs over a couple of weeks.

 

Mr Bodel said Gaborit and Schatz were to have been paid $US100,000 each for their role in organising the unloading and transport of the drugs to New York.

 

He said the crime syndicate had planned to sell the cannabis for $US1 million, but it would have had a street value of about $US5 million.

 

 

ohhh.. how nice to see these "american authorities" giving the Australian Feds $100,000 for their "part" ummpfftt!

 

Urbanhog