Jamil Hopoate

How ex-NRL star's 'fairytale' $154m drug haul turned nightmare as jail term revealed.

He was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison on Thursday morning, with a non-parole period of two years and three months. Hopoate played 12 games for the Brisbane Broncos before he was let go at the end of the 2020 season and failed to earn a contract with another club. And while he was never going to be a part of the street level distribution of the drugs, he willingly took part in the chain of supply. Hopoate was facing a maximum penalty of life in prison and was given a 25 per cent discount on his sentence for his early guilty plea. In a letter of remorse delivered to the court, Hopoate said he had reflected on his actions and felt he had let everyone down, in particular his family. “His reward was $10,000 and not a percentage of the profit,” Judge Norton said.

The son of former Manly winger John Hopoate and brother of former Canterbury star Will collected eight blocks of powder and then rode in a van that was ...

Hopoate was paid $10,000 by a stranger to move the slabs in an offer that he said, “seemed like a fairy tale”. He was jailed again this year for three months after failing to complete 250 hours of community service, as ordered by a court in 2021. Hopoate was dumped by Manly Sea Eagles in 2014 when he was jailed for a year for a drunken, brutal and unprovoked attack on a man outside a pub. The driver of the van, Leanna Belinda Mafoa was sentenced to an 18-month intensive corrections order in the community for her role in the drug running. However, she found he was a willing participant and an important part of the chain of supply. Hopoate was seen in a hi-vis hoodie collecting eight one-kilogram blocks of powder from the shipment and then riding in a van that was stopped by police in the suburb of Pagewood.