A group of international poker aficionados are cooling their heels in an Australian jail after being arrested in connection with a cocaine shipment originating from Vancouver.
Australian Federal Police allege the three tried to import 21kg of cocaine in steel machinery parts delivered by sea from Vancouver to Sydney last month.
Customs and Border Protection Officers allegedly intercepted the cargo on January 17 when it arrived in Sydney and discovered drugs hidden in the parts.
Police took control of the consignment and subsequently carried out a controlled operation.
It will be alleged in court that the 27-year-old Kew man took delivery of the consignment on 24 January 2011.
The 21 kilograms of cocaine seized in this operation has an estimated street value of approximately $4.2 million.
Darren Francis Hughes, 27, of Kew, David Saab, 37, of Balwyn North and Robert Alan Remeeus, 27, of Vermont South, appeared before Melbourne Chief Magistrate Ian Gray charged with drugs offences last week.
Both Saab and Reemeus are members of a team of poker players called “The SAAB Squad.”
According to several gaming websites and poker.net two of the accused are known as David “zanderfish” Saab, and Robert “remo_04” Reemeus.
According to the team’s Facebook page, “The SAAB Squad is a team of exceptional poker players from Australia that will be traveling the globe in search of success on the felt.”
Saab has had some success on the live tournament circuit, although nothing approaching the top players in the world.
The page also says, “The Squad focuses on learning the game, living the dream, and loving every minute… Well except for those times when we can all hate the game!”
With $550,720 in lifetime winnings he ranks 1,368th on the all-time money list. The vast majority of his winnings came in 2008 from two tournaments. The first was in May, when he won the Manila stop on the Asian Poker Tour, a $2,500 No Limit Hold’em event, and took home $280,000.
He followed that up in July with a deep run in the World Series of Poker Main Event, finishing 46th for $135,100. Of his other 11 live cashes, 10 of them have come in tournaments in his home country of Australia.
Online, Saab hasn’t fared too well. According to PokerTableRatings.com, Saab, playing under the screen name “zanderfish,” has lost over $75,000 in cash games on PokerStars since September 2008.
Reemeus is also a poker player, focusing his game on the virtual felts. Known as “remo_04,” Reemeus is currently ranked 7,779th worldwide on the PocketFives.com Tournament Leaderboard. According to PocketFives.com, Reemeus has won a combined $44,338 from tournaments on Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, and Cake Poker. Most of it came in February of last year, when he took down Full Tilt’s $75,000 Guaranteed for $39,015.
Other members of The SAAB Squad include Aaron Nicastri, Tristan Bain, Rhys Gould, Jesse MacGuire, Kel Beattie, and James Broom. It should be noted that only Saab and Reemeus have any connection to the drug bust.
The last time Saab was seen playing poker was earlier last week on Day 1A of the Aussie Millions Main Event in Melbourne. Saab failed to advance to Day 2, although even if he had, he would not have finished the tournament considering the recent developments. He played in preliminary events at his home casino, but was unable make the money in any of them.