Man says drug-smuggling dad's double life led to 'nightmare' charges

James Blee is accused of helping his father attempt to import a large quantity of cocaine into Australia. (Facebook) James Lake-Kusviandy Blee has told a jury he had no knowledge his father had a plan to import drugs into Newcastle. Mr Blee said he helped his father run errands, but did not help him to smuggle drugs. Link copiedShareShare articleA man accused of helping his father import kilograms of cocaine into Newcastle has told a jury his father led a double life. Queensland man James Lake-Kusviandy Blee, 24, has pleaded not guilty to aiding and abetting his father to import a commercial quantity of the drug. Mr Blee told the Downing Centre District Court jury he was not involved in any crime. The cocaine was attached to the hull of a bulk carrier that docked in the city's port in May 2022. The 24-year-old's father was arrested within a week of the ship's arrival and extradited from Queensland to NSW. Cocaine packages washed ashore in Newcastle in 2022. (Supplied: NSW Police) The arrest came after police seized more than 40 kilograms of cocaine found in the harbour. James Blake Blee, 66, pleaded guilty to importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug and smuggling two Brazilian divers into Australia. In 2024 Blee was sentenced to a maximum of 11 years and three months in prison for the drug importation offence, with a non-parole period of seven years and three months. He received a maximum sentence of 12 months' prison for the people-smuggling offence. The court heard James Blee helped his father by acting as a runner and organising transport and equipment. The 24-year-old told the jury he never questioned his father, believing he was running errands ahead of a salvage operation. Mr Blee said it was only after a divers went missing that his father told him the nature of the job, which involved two divers tasked with retrieving the drugs. "I believe he messaged me … he sort of, effectively, kind of spills the beans on the operation," Mr Blee told the court. "First of all he apologises and he says that … there were some people who asked him to get this package and it went wrong and they were going to pay him a lot of money." Mr Blee sobbed as he told the court at that point he was "suspicious" the operation may have been "illegal". Police divers searching for cocaine on the hull of a ship in Newcastle in 2022. (Supplied: NSW Police, AFP and ABF) Mr Blee told the court his father was not the man he thought he was and that he had no reason to question him prior to that conversation. "My father was living a double life … it wasn't within the realms of possibility in my mind he would be capable of anything like that," he said. "At the time he appeared to be a regular person who I believed to be of good character. James Blake Blee is serving a prison term for the drug importation. (Supplied) Mr Blee gave evidence over two days and was cross-examined by Crown prosecutor Katrina Curry today. Ms Curry told jurors Mr Blee worked with his father to retrieve the cocaine. "You knew what you were involved in was an attempt to retrieve border-controlled drugs," she said. The jury was shown a note allegedly written by his father that outlined the retrieval operation. Ms Curry told jurors the father and son went through the note, outlining the "mechanics of the operation" on the night of the dive. Ms Curry told jurors Mr Blee had also purchased fishing rods to "create a cover story about a legitimate fishing trip". "The real reason is you wanted to create a cover story in case anyone saw you at the Stockton shoreline and asked what you were doing," she said. James Lake-Kusviandy Blee is on trial in the Downing Centre District Court in Sydney. (ABC News: Adriane Reardon) The jury was told one of two divers hired for the job was missing. Mr Blee rejected claims his Google search of that detail meant he was "actively wanting to follow up if border-controlled drugs had been found". Copy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top Stories'Got no friends left': Jewish teen bullied while playing MinecraftTopic:Royal Commissions

Man says drug-smuggling dad's double life led to 'nightmare' charges

Key takeaways

More in international