Naala Moort president Donald Noel Collard jailed for 10 years on money laundering and drug charges

A leading figure in an Indigenous social club which descended into a meth dealing organised crime network has been jailed for 10 years after admitting to over 50 money laundering and drug related charges. Donald Noel Collard, 46, was the biggest scalp from a year-long police investigation into Naala Moort, a group made up exclusively of Indigenous people which descended into a drug dealing syndicate several years ago after it got into financial trouble. According to police, members held ranks such as president and vice president, while young men flaunted their membership on social media by wearing patches and jackets identical to those worn by outlaw bikie gangs. Collard was allegedly the president of the club, a title he continues to deny. The WA District Court heard on Thursday how Naala Moort was established in 2006 and initially had good intentions to help Indigenous people obtain loans and pay for funerals. It was registered with ASIC, had an ABN and it was paying taxes. But by 2017 the group was in dire financial straits. This led Collard, a father of six, and other senior figures in the group to engage in drug dealing to help make the club financially viable again. The court heard that on several dozen occasions between 2017 and 2018 Collard instructed his fellow members to deposit funds from the sale of drugs into various bank and betting accounts. The total amount of money that was laundered was close to $150,000. Collard and his co offenders also sold trafficable amounts of drugs to undercover police. Some of the drug deals were recorded covertly. When police raided his Midland home in early 2018 Collard jumped over a back fence. When he was eventually arrested police found 24 grams of meth on him. Collard pleaded guilty to 57 charges in total. He was one of eight people connected to Naala Moort that were arrested as part of the police investigation, led by Carnarvon detectives. The court heard drugs sold by the gang had found their way into Carnarvon and Port Hedland. Defence lawyer Clint Hampson said Collard was remorseful, had always been gainfully employed and had his own clothing business at one stage. Judge John Prior said the case was somewhat tragic because Collard was not a drug user and was seen as a leader in the Indigenous community who came from a law abiding family. “As an Indigenous man...you would have been well aware of the destruction and harm that consumption of methylamphetamine has to rural communities and indigenous communities,” Judge Prior said. “It is a drug that causes misery not only to those who consume the drug but to the user’s friends and relations.” Judge Prior accepted the Naala Moort club was the beneficiary of the money laundering and drug sales, and not Collard personally. Collard, whose sentence was backdated to August 21 last year, will be eligible for parole after serving eight years.