THE Newcastle "front man" for a drug syndicate that imported 230 kilograms of methamphetamine into Australia from South Korea never got the "killer earn", receiving a wage and $40,000 cash from the criminal group for an importation that was expected to bank more than $100 million.
McLaughlin was arrested in May, 2021, after two shipments of helical gear drives were examined at the Australian Border Force facility in Sydney and discovered to contain more than $143 million worth of ice.
The first shipment contained 140 kilograms of methamphetamine, while the second contained 90 kilograms and in both shipments the drug was concealed within the helical gear drives.
McLaughlin and five other people - known only by their ANOM usernames - had conspired to import the methamphetamine between April, 2020 and May 2021, according to court documents.
And, according to the Australian Federal Police, another six helical gears containing about 270 kilograms of methamphetamine were seized during a raid at a factory in Newcastle in May, 2021.
The discovery came a month after the AFP, NSW Police Drug and Firearms Squad and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission launched a joint investigation into an Australian company importing the drives.
McLaughlin was the "front man" for the company and had put money into the business to make it appear legitimate and cover costs for the consignments to be delivered.
He was told by a syndicate higher-up that he would receive $100,000 up front and the rest of his payment after the packages arrived, but was given only $40,000 and a wage of $2,000 a week.
Defence barrister, David Dalton, SC, read an encrypted message exchange between other syndicate members who were discussing McLaughlin's arrest and noted he "didn't get the killer earn".
"Mind you he got paid $2,000 a week, plus expenses all paid," one syndicate member said.
"Bro, I'd want millions," another replied.
McLaughlin was arrested on May 22, 2021 and didn't realise it at the time but he had been one of the hundreds of organised crime figures caught up in the global ANOM app sting.
The ANOM app was a secure messaging platform set up by authorities as part of a joint venture between the FBI in the United States, the Australian Federal Police and other law enforcement agencies targeting criminal organisations around the world.
The device containing the app was covertly distributed to alleged underworld figures, who began using it to communicate with each other.
But what they didn't know was that every message was being intercepted by law enforcement officials, who spent three years gathering evidence against hundreds of alleged criminals before revealing the sting to the world in June, 2021.
Police made more than 1000 arrests globally, including 224 in Australia, under the banner Operation Ironside.
That arm of the investigation has to date resulted in 11 arrests and the seizure of more than 700 kilograms of methamphetamine.
"Police allege the syndicate is controlled by an OMCG member based offshore, who is the organiser of numerous criminal ventures impacting Australia and uses encrypted communications devices to communicate with criminal associates," the AFP said in a statement. "Within Australia, it is alleged the criminal operations are controlled by a NSW man who oversees criminal activities across the country. The criminal syndicate has allegedly used encrypted communications devices to execute multiple importations of methamphetamine from the Republic of Korea and to facilitate the distribution of drugs in Australia. The intelligence gathered during the operation identified key members of a money laundering syndicate, significant associates and members of an OMCG, and crucial insights into the syndicate's methamphetamine import methodologies, supply and distribution chains."
McLaughlin was one of 60 alleged ANOM-related drug traffickers in NSW who were part of a class-action lawsuit challenging the legality of the encrypted app, but has since become the first and only of those defendants to plead guilty.
Dozens of other defendants remain on remand or bail awaiting what will likely be the outcome of a High Court appeal later this year.
McLaughlin will learn his fate next month.
