Rhys Alwyn Ferszt: Bodybuilder, 33, accused of running cocaine school says he was on 'mid-career' break
QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA: Rhys Alwyn Ferszt, 33, who once competed against Australian swimming legend Grant Hackett, is now accused of being the kingpin of a ‘cocaine school’ and says he was on a ‘mid-career’ break at the time of infringement. He is currently being accused of being the leader of a cocaine manufacturing syndicate with ties to a Colombian drug cartel. He was originally arrested in the Northern Territory on July 21, 2022, along with nine others, including his girlfriend and roommate.
Rhys Alwyn Ferszt is a full-time road and drainage officer with the Gold Coast council. Rhys Alwyn Ferszt is named as the alleged ringleader of a $175million cocaine plot and that he orchestrated the construction of a $250,000 cocaine laboratory in the regional Queensland town of Durong, where police recently discovered 100kg of pure extracted cocaine. He is also accused of storing fuels and chemicals used in the cocaine extraction process while teaching others how to extract the drug. After his arrest, he was extradited from the Northern Territory to Queensland, where he has been in custody ever since. He applied for bail from the Queensland High Court in Brisbane on August, 26, with his defense claiming he was off work at the time of the offense.
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Ferszt is accused of being the kingpin of the operation which is linked to a Colombian drug cartel. Defense counsel Michael Gatenby told the court that part of the prosecution material aimed at showing whether Ferszt had access to 'substantial' amounts of illegitimate money was wrong. According to the Courier Mail, he said his client had access to a legitimate source of income and was just on a break from his council job, which he would return to if given bail. Justice Declan Kelly found the claim was substantiated through a letter sent to the court from the council which confirmed Ferszt was on paid leave at the time of the offense. Prosecutors argued that he was a fugitive and at risk of re-offending or interfering with witnesses to the case.
However, lawyer Gatenby counter-argued that bail was appropriate and that his client was not a flight risk, would report to police Monday to Friday, surrender his passport and offer $200,000 surety. "There's just nothing that suggests that there is an acceptable risk of committing further offenses," lawyer Gatenby told the court. "He demonstrates a pattern of remaining in the community, he's been a person who's able to get up in the morning, go to the gym, do those (sporting) things, and in my submission who can comply with the rigors of reporting to police." "He's offering a surety, he's handing in his passport, he's living in a community where he's got full-time employment and he's in a stable relationship. And he's offering to submit to fairly significant reporting." Justice Kelly decided to grant the bail application, saying he was satisfied with its conditions. “I have come to the conclusion that I am satisfied with the terms proposed by the applicant and that I can adequately consider the risk relating to graduate bail,” Justice Kelly said.