Horse trainer John Nikolic prepares to fight Fiji drug-smuggling sentence in a risky move that could see him spend MORE time behind bars
- Convicted drug smuggler John Nikolic has lodged appeal against jail sentence
- Sentenced 23 years in Fiji after found guilty of drug importation and possession
- Risk of sentence increase after recent landmark decision by Fiji Court of Appeal
- Cocaine, methamphetamine, money and guns found on his luxury yacht in 2018
Convicted cocaine smuggler John Nikolic is at risk of spending more time behind bars in Fiji after he lodged an appeal against his lengthy jail sentence.
The former Melbourne horse trainer was sentenced 23 years jail by the Suva High Court in March after he was found guilty of drug importation and possession, and failure to declare arms and ammunitions to a customs officer.
Nikolic, the brother of jockey Danny, has been behind bars since his arrest by Fijian police at Port Denarau in June 2018 when cocaine, methamphetamine, money and guns were found on his luxury yacht.
John Nikolic, pictured with wife Yvette, may have his lengthy 23 year sentence in a Fiji prison extended after he lodged an appeal last week
Fiji authorities confirmed an appeal was lodged against Nikolic’s appeal last week, The Herald Sun reported.
Already serving one of the longest drug smuggling sentences ever handed down in Fiji, Nikolic faces the possibility of having his sentence extended following a recent landmark decision by the Fiji Court of Appeal.
Sydney tow truck driver Joseph Abourizk was originally sentenced to 14 years in a Fiji prison with a non-parole period of 12 years in 2016 for a $15million cocaine haul.
However, his sentence was increased to 25 years after he appealed.
The Fiji Court of Appeal set down harsh drug sentencing guidelines as part of the judgment.
Anyone caught in Fiji with more than 500 grams of cocaine now faces to up to 22 years jail, while those with more than one kilogram potentially sentenced for life.
Authorities found cocaine, methamphetamine, money and guns on Nikolic’s luxury yacht
Nikolic and his wife were on a voyage on their luxury yacht ‘Shenanigans’ around the US in February 2018 with stops in Colombia, Panama and French Polynesia and Tahiti.
The couple had been travelling across the Pacific and on their way to the Gold Coast when Fijian authorities discovered $30 million worth of drugs, along with two guns, on their vessel as it arrived in Port Denarau in June 2018.
Officials found 13 bars of cocaine, 65 ecstasy tablets, two handguns, and 112 rounds of ammunition on the vessel. The drugs were stored in a blue bag in the locker below deck. Customs also found US $15,000 in cash on the yacht.
Police found 13 bars cocaine, 65 ecstasy tablets, two handguns, and 112 rounds of ammunition on the couple’s yacht ‘Shenanigans’ as it arrived in Fiji in June 2018
Nikolic pleaded not guilty to five charges, including importation and possession of drugs and possession of firearms without a licence when the trial started in January.
Two other less serious drug charges were dropped.
Nikolic had claimed sole responsibility during the search, pointing officers to more hidden cocaine, before attempting to take his own life in an overdose after asking to use the bathroom, prosecutors said during the trial.
Former horse trainer John Nikolic was sentenced to 23 years jail in Fiji earlier this year
His wife Yvette was acquitted on all charges earlier this year after a judge ruled that the evidence against her was circumstantial.
She left Fiji before authorities could appeal against the acquittal and returned to Australia.
‘There was no evidence at all against her on any of the charges, so we are thankful to the Fijian justice system, and we have been vindicated,’ Yvette’s lawyer Ronald Gordon told the ABC at the time.
The Nikolics had been travelling across the Pacific before docking in Port Denarau