Buff café owner who boasted about his lavish lifestyle is found guilty of drug trafficking - as it's revealed he stored MDMA in a pink Barbie lunch box

  • Brendan Leigh Baker, 27, was found guilty of 11 out of 12 drug-related charges
  • He had been charged with trafficking MDMA, cocaine and cannabis 
  • The court heard Baker had also tried to import a synthetic drug from China 
  • Prosecutors highlighted his flashy social media presence showing off his wealth

A Canberra cafe owner who boasted about his lavish lifestyle on social media has been found guilty of drug trafficking.  

Brendan Leigh Baker, 27, was found guilty of 11 out of 12 drug-related charges at ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday.

He had been charged with trafficking MDMA, cocaine, cannabis and trying to import a synthetic drug from China.

The jury was unable to find him guilty on the 12th charge of importing ephylone, another synthetic drug which had allegedly been delivered to his home.

Brendan Leigh Baker, 27, was found guilty of 11 out of 12 drug-related charges at ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday

Brendan Leigh Baker, 27, was found guilty of 11 out of 12 drug-related charges at ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday

The Canberra cafe owner had been charged with trafficking MDMA, cocaine, cannabis and trying to import a synthetic drug from China

The Canberra cafe owner had been charged with trafficking MDMA, cocaine, cannabis and trying to import a synthetic drug from China

Baker was busted after another drug dealer agreed to serve as a police informant in exchange for immunity from prosecution. 

Paul McCauley admitted the two had tried to import synthetic MDMA from overseas and said Baker had once given him a Barbie lunch box containing a kilogram -  or $36,000 worth - of MDMA, the ABC reported. 

Defence lawyer Astrid Haban-Beer later claimed McCauley was 'unreliable' because he had a motive to lie in order to not implicate himself. 

Prosecutors also highlighted Baker's flashy social media presence in which he frequently showed off his ritzy lifestyle by sharing photos of his luxury cars.

The court heard he had owned five different cars including a Mercedes CLA 445, BMW 320i, Volkswagen Golf, BMW 23 Convertible and Subaru Forester.

Baker's ex girlfriend also testified that he once bragged about how his Mercedes cost as much as someone's salary, and said she had witnessed him count large amounts of cash.

Brendan Baker
Prosecutors also highlighted Baker's flashy social media presence in which he frequently showed off his ritzy lifestyle by sharing photos of his luxury cars

Prosecutors also highlighted Baker's flashy social media presence in which he frequently showed off his ritzy lifestyle by sharing photos of his luxury cars

Prosecutors argued Baker's income as a cafe owner did not match the image of wealth he was showing off, as well as the $80,000 in cash deposits he made. 

Ms Haban-Beer had argued that her client was not on trial for being part of 'the selfie generation or his prolific use of hashtags.' 

According to his social media, Baker frequently shared photos of his wealth while painting a 'rags to riches' success story. 

In a caption of a 2016 photo of Baker posing on his white Mercedes Benz, he wrote: 'I was that kid that failed school, my family had nothing and me and my friends all were told we would go no where in life.

'Funny how things have changed...

'I feel so blessed to be able to look back on my life and see how far I've come...

'Big shout out to all my friends & family that have motivated me to stop at nothing.'

Baker is due to be sentenced in August.  

  

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Canberra cafe owner is found guilty of drug trafficking

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