A Scottish woman has been pictured for the first time after being caught with £5.7 million worth of ketamine in the boot of a rental car in Australia. Demi McDaid, 23, was arrested alongside her boyfriend Jack Farrelly, 30, in Sydney last month. Farrelly cannot be pictured for legal reasons.
Arrest and Charges
The pair were taken into custody at a hotel in the Australian capital on June 26 following a raid by New South Wales Police (NSWP). During the bust, officers discovered 107kg of ketamine in the shared rental car, along with mobile phones, more than $2,000 in cash, and documents alleged to be drug ledgers. A subsequent raid at a unit on Hampden Road in the suburb of Artarmon uncovered a further 2kg of ketamine.
McDaid and Farrelly were charged with two counts of supplying a prohibited drug – one larger than an indictable quantity and one larger than a commercial quantity. They appeared at Manly Local Court last month, where they were refused bail and ordered to reappear at the Downing Centre Local Court on August 25.
Police Allegations and Investigation
NSW Police will allege that McDaid and Farrelly came to Australia with “the sole purpose of taking part in the distribution and supply of large commercial quantities of prohibited drugs”. In a statement, the force said: “Further investigations into anyone else who may have been involved are underway.”
The plot was unravelled after detectives were tipped off by locals to suspicious activity at a unit the couple had rented. According to police, the major bust combined “good old-fashioned police work” from senior detectives with the technical skills of younger team members, allowing them to track the alleged owner of abandoned luggage to a hotel in North Sydney.
Drug Haul and Images
The drugs are estimated to have a street value of AUD$11 million – roughly £5.7 million. Images released by police show the couple's rental car packed with bags of the drug, as well as piles of ketamine stacked together after the seizure.
Acting Crime Manager for North Shore Police Area Command Detective Acting Inspector Alison Dixon commented on the growing trend of drug syndicates using short-term accommodation rentals to evade law enforcement. She said: “We have seen this before in short stays and encourage property owners to be wary. People staying in hotels and Airbnbs, we see a lot of illegal activities come and go through those places. Stuff out of the ordinary that doesn’t look right... if it doesn’t look right, it probably isn’t.”
