Disgraced former Brisbane Broncos player Jamil Hopoate has been jailed over his involvement in a massive drug importation.
Hopoate was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison on Thursday morning, with a non parole period of two years and 3 months after he was caught in a police sting.
He will be eligible for release in July 2024.
The court heard that the son of rugby league bad boy John Hopoate was suffering from long-term drug, alcohol and gambling addictions and was paid $10000 for his role in retrieving part of the drug shipment.
He was arrested after police intercepted a consignment of drugs arriving at Sydney airport from London in May 2021.
Police switched out the drugs for a dummy substance and installed surveillance devices .
He was arrested after he climbed inside a truck linked to the massive 514kg cocaine haul – estimated by police to have a street value of $154m – at Port Botany before leading police on a brief chase.
Hopoate pleaded guilty to one count of supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug.
The court heard that he retrieved eight 1kg blocks of the fake substance before jumping in a silver Hyundai van being driven by Leanne Mafoa.
Mafoa also pleaded guilty to a charge of accessory after the fact to supplying a prohibited drug.
Last year Hopoate, 27, narrowly avoided being sent to jail for domestic violence offences against his wife.
He pleaded guilty to seven offences, including two counts of common assault – domestic violence related and one count of common assault.
He was sentenced to a 12-month sentence to be served in the community by way of an intensive corrections order (ICO).
However Hopoate earlier this year breached the terms of his ICO and served three months in prison before his sentence expired.
In 2014, Hopoate was jailed for at least one year for an unprovoked attack outside a Manly pub.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company.
He was sentenced to 18 months in jail with a one-year non-parole period.
Hopoate played 12 games for the Brisbane Broncos before he was let go at the end of the 2020 season and failed to earn a contract with another club.
MORE TO COME.
