A Coniston man will be sentenced after phone taps uncovered he was complicit in the importation of cocaine from Ireland, hidden in boxes of 'Cadbury moist chocolate cake mix' in 2021.
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Danny Joel Nikolovski appeared before Wollongong District Court on Friday where he received his date for sentence.
The 35-year-old pleaded guilty to aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of an offence by his co-accused, who allegedly attempted to possess 322.5 grams of cocaine imported from Dublin, Ireland.
Facts tendered to the court revealed Australian Border Force officials seized a consignment of 'chocolate crisps' sent via air mail through DHL in Ireland on October 3, 2021, which was due to be delivered to the co-accused's Illawarra home the following week.
Following an examination of the package, two small boxes labelled 'Cadbury moist chocolate cake mix' contained foil sachets with a white powder inside. It was tested and identified as cocaine with a purity of 64.5 per cent.
On October 13, investigators organised a controlled delivery of an inert substance inside the consignment and delivered it to the co-accused, who allegedly provided his driver's licence to confirm his identity and accepted it.
Police arrested the co-accused later that evening. He was released without charge pending further investigation.
Police tapped a phone conversation between Nikolovski and the co-accused the next day where they discussed police arriving at his home. In another intercepted call between the co-accused and another associate, Nikolovski's name was mentioned in relation to the police search.
Police also tapped a conversation between Nikolovski and his mother in which he said if police came again, "I told you what to say".
Later that month, the co-accused was interviewed by police where he confirmed his relationship with Nikolovski.
Nikolovski was arrested on December 8, 2021 when officers stopped him while driving on the Princes Highway. His phone was seized.
Court documents stated Nikolovski had received five packages sent from the consignor in Ireland, however these were not seized by authorities with insufficient evidence there was a prohibited substance inside.
He will be sentenced in Wollongong District Court on April 26. The court heard Nikolovski's co-accused is listed for trial in May.
Read more Illawarra court and crime stories here.
Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
