<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A jury has rejected claims that a superyacht operator's son was merely helping his father run errands in a botched attempt to retrieve </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/cocaine" rel="" target="" title="cocaine"><span>cocaine</span></a><span> from the hull of a cargo ship.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>James Lake-Kusviandy Blee, 24, plotted with his father, James Lake Blee, and two Brazilian divers to obtain a 57-kilogram package of cocaine on May 9, 2022.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The drugs were concealed within the hull of the Arti Gr Majura, which had transported soybean meal from </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/argentina" rel="" target="" title="Argentina"><span>Argentina</span></a><span> to the Port of </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/newcastle-news" rel="" target="" title="Newcastle"><span>Newcastle</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/prime-minister-anthony-albanese-denies-offering-help-to-remaining-isis-bride-group-seeking-to-return-to-australia/c9a7af18-f861-4a83-a5e0-6ac2945bad6b" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>PM denies helping remaining ISIS brides to return to Australia</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Only one of the divers, Jhoni Fernandes Da Silva, returned to the surface, and police found the body of his compatriot, Bruno Borges Martins, floating in Newcastle Harbour.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Da Silva fled and has never been apprehended by </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/police" rel="" target="" title="police"><span>police</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Blee Jr was found guilty on Wednesday of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug by jurors at </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/sydney" rel="" target="" title="Sydney's"><span>Sydney's</span></a><span> Downing Centre District </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/courts" rel="" target="" title="Court"><span>Court</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/superyacht-operators-son-guilty-of-cocaine-smuggling/9dcd2f8e-0be2-42a1-95b0-4159ef378b00" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His bail was immediately revoked.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/federal-budget-2026-aussie-business-owners-unite-against-pms-tax-reform/161fefc4-6127-4b59-a159-6c688e0c7dda" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Aussie business owners unite against PM's 'aspiration ambush'</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A package containing 42 individual packets of cocaine was wrapped in a black tarp and found by water police washed up on nearby Kooragang Island.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/nsw-police" rel="" target="" title="NSW Police"><span>NSW Police</span></a><span> examined the packages and found it contained almost 35 kilograms of pure cocaine.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The divers were equipped with a variety of gear, including rebreathers and seabobs, to dive down 10 metres and obtain the drugs from a compartment on the cargo ship known as the sea chest, the jury heard.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Blee Jr denied knowing about the plot, telling the court that he thought he was running errands for his father.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He travelled by yacht from </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/darwin" rel="" target="" title="Darwin"><span>Darwin</span></a><span> to </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/bali" rel="" target="" title="Bali"><span>Bali</span></a><span> in Indonesia in February 2022.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Blee Sr then travelled to </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/dubai" rel="" target="" title="Dubai"><span>Dubai</span></a><span>, where he met a man known as Irish to get details about the drug plot.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In April 2022, the father and son left Bali on a yacht bound for Darwin with the two divers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After Martins failed to return from the dive operation in the harbour, Blee Jr bought a one-way plane ticket back to his home in the Gold Coast.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He will be sentenced on July 24.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In November 2024, James Blake Blee was sentenced to 11 years and three months' imprisonment for the offences, with parole eligibility after seven years and six months.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He pleaded guilty to importing the border-controlled drug and smuggling the two Brazilians into the country.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Blee Sr agreed to the plot in a gamble driven by financial stress after his business collapsed during the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/covid-19" rel="" target="" title="COVID-19 pandemic"><span>COVID-19 pandemic</span></a><span>, the court heard in 2024.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He will be eligible for parole in November 2029.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/anthony-albanese-meeting-kumanjayi-little-baby-family/456dbb2f-e691-4a94-b7b8-5a701afba8c1" rel="" target="" title="PM admits governments need to do better after Kumanjayi Little Baby's death"><strong><span>PM admits governments need to do better after Kumanjayi Little Baby's death</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a 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