POLICE NEWS: Mowbray drug-related sentence appeal bid rejected
Police News
A Mowbray man will not be able to appeal against his three-year suspended jail sentence for allowing his son to use his home to traffic drugs after the Queensland Court of Appeal ruled against his bid.
In March the Cairns Supreme Court sentenced Colin Edward Heidke, 73, to three years' imprisonment, but most of that jail time was suspended, with him expected at the time to spend about six months behind bars.
Mr Heidke had pleaded guilty to several charges, including allowing his son Paul Michael Heidke, 45, to use his property to traffic methamphetamine, but afterwards sought to appeal the severity of the sentence.
The court at the time heard drug and cash couriers travelled from as far away as Brisbane to the Mowbray property, where goods would then be transferred to local deliverers and distributed across Far North Queensland.
The 3.2ha property was raided by police on October 28, 2022, where they seized drugs, cash and stolen earthmoving equipment.
But the appeals court ruled that the original sentence was “sound” and Colin Heidke’s application to appeal was refused.
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