EXCLUSIVE
Grandad Barry Calverley wiped away tears as he made a final bid to be released on bail on heroin smuggling charges. His health has been affected by prison.
The 68-year-old Perth mining expert appeared in the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday via video footage from Wellington Prison in NSW Central West, his head bowed and his face largely obscured.
Judge Belinda Rigg SC heard that Calverley – who has been married for 31 years, has an estate, three successful daughters and has had a career in mining for decades – had suffered medical problems while in custody.
Calverley was arrested at Sydney International Airport on January 24 with a green bag believed to be containing drugs. He was returning from Laos via Hanoi, Vietnam.
Australian Border Force officers reportedly found 5kg of heroin, currently estimated to have a street value of between $2.5 and $3 million.
He was accused of importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, which the Australian Federal Police said was “an amount of heroin (that) would be enough for 25,000 street deals.”
Calverley has been held in a cell at the maximum-security Macquarie Correctional Centre in Wuuluman, 350km northwest of Sydney, since that afternoon.
The safety adviser for the Western Australian mining industry had never been in custody before, according to his lawyer Phillip Ryan. He had hearing problems and had suffered from heart and gastrointestinal problems in prison.
Barry Calverley, above with daughter Harriet and wife Jocelyn, was a respected mining industry consultant with an estate who is now in prison on drug trafficking charges that carry a life sentence.
His daughter Harriet flew from Perth to pick up her father from prison and return with him to Western Australia when he was released.
Calverley’s wife of 30 years had sent a letter of support, saying “someone of his age and health” would be best cared for in the community, Ryan said.
Mr Ryan argued his client had a “very structured” plan ahead of his trial next year.
He sat hunched over the chair in the prison video booth, seeing nothing but his white hair and green prison sweater. He only looked up again when Bethany Debenham, the Commonwealth DPP prosecutor, opposed his bail.
Ms Debenham described Calverley as “an unacceptable risk” and said the man’s bail could not be monitored by Western Australia Police. She said the case against him was strong and “the likelihood of a conviction was high”.
Border Force officials allege Barry Calverley entered this bag of camping chairs, containing 5kg of heroin, through customs at Sydney International Airport on January 24 this year
Calverley, who has worked in India, Singapore and West Africa on gas and oil projects for commodity giants including Shell, Exxon Mobil, BHP and Santos, is believed to have flown from Perth to Southeast Asia in the third week of January this year.
He left WA – where he worked in locations such as the Pilbara for up to $2,000 a day – reportedly on the promise of an $11 million payment to bring “a small gift” from Laos to Australia, a bail hearing was previously told.
Downing Centre Court heard in May that Calverley had reached a settlement in a WhatsApp message to travel to Laos and meet a man named ‘Privham’ at a hotel to pick up documents.
When asked to bring a green camping chair bag and an envelope back to Australia, the court heard he was “suspicious” and “knew something was wrong”.
According to his lawyers, he was duped and Judge Rigg was told the defendant would enter a “not guilty” plea at trial.
Barry Calverley, above with an ambulance he took to a mining site in Western Australia, has worked on gas and oil projects for resource giants including Shell, Exxon Mobil, BHP and Santos
Calverley has been in deteriorating health since being held in Wellington Prison (above), where he became the first inmate to make an emotional appearance in court via video link
Calverley admitted the hotel swap was suspicious, but said he would never have agreed to take illegal items.
Calverley was highly respected and “impressive,” said a friend who works as a safety consultant on high-risk mining sites and spoke to Daily Mail Australia.
The friend said he was “stunned” that Calverley is in jail for drug trafficking and on Wednesday issued a reference for bail.
But Judge Rigg said she did not believe Calverley had shown why his continued detention was not justified or sufficiently mitigated the risks of his release on a charge that carried a “maximum sentence of life imprisonment”.
“I have to refuse bail and bail is refused,” Her Honour said.
Calverley appeared to sob and wiped his eyes with his hand before the video link with the prison was lost.
He is due to stand trial in the New South Wales District Court in September, likely in 2025.
Harriet Calverley declined to comment about her father.