Ben Faulkner was a drugs kingpin at 20 but now he's inside for 24 years

According to documents in the NSW District Court, Ben Faulkner was in charge of a Sydney-based drug syndicate that imported at least 123 kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine from Canada into Sydney in six months in 2011.

At the time, he was just 20 years old. Incredibly, he'd only recently arrived in Sydney. One of his co-accused, also sent to jail, was 19. In all, there were five separate importations - four of them successful – and the street value of the last one was $30 million.

The court papers detail how Adelaide-born Faulkner and his syndicate imported the drugs – and how he sent one member overseas to Barcelona, via Hong Kong and Zurich, to hand over €235,000 (current value $343,100) to a man known only as El Tio.

The same syndicate member was given $10,000 in cash in a slightly less-exotic location – McDonalds at Casula - which was arranged by a man known only as "the commando".

And electronic surveillance captured the split second members of the group discovered a listening device – and to their horror realisedthe gig was up.

Faulkner's case was finalised late last month when District Court Judge Stephen Norrish gave him a sentence that expires in 2038.

The AFP and other agencies, including Customs, the Australian Crime Commission, the NSW Police and the NSW Crime Commission started their investigation in late 2011.

In October that year, Customs examined a "tractor grapple bucket" weighing 790 kilos that had arrived in Sydney on an Air Canada flight. Detecting the presence of white powder, they called in the AFP which found "24 rectangular blocks containing a total of 24 kilograms of cocaine and 27 plastic bags containing a total of 27 kilograms of methamphetamine."

The street value of the cocaine was estimated at $13.85 million and the methamphetamine at $16 million

According to AFP fact sheets, on November 4, Faulkner and his team tried to extract the drugs from the tractor grapple bucket inside a warehouse in Wetherill Park, oblivious to the fact they were surrounded by law enforcement officers who were listening to their conversation, which went like this:

Syndicate member: "F... it's easy to get busted bro."

Faulkner: "It [the tractor part] looks like it's been tampered with, hey."

Syndicate member: "It does bro."

Faulkner: "Oh, what the f..., wait, no, no, no, is that a listening device … c'mon let's get out of here."

Moments later Faulkner, Peter Ream, 21, and two others were arrested. Fafiro Keo, the 19 year-old, was also picked up.

A search of Faulkner's Cabramatta house turned up $135,700 in cash and five kilos of methamphetamine.

Court papers show a syndicate member whose name was suppressed – Mr X – subsequently made a statement to police in which he revealed previous undetected importations starting in April 2011.

An estimated 72 kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine were hidden inside restaurant ovens and, ironically, ice makers all imported from Canada on April 21, August 16, September 30 and October 15.

Exactly how Faulkner came to be a "Mr Big" at such a young age is unknown. It's made even more unusual because Faulkner came to Sydney from Adelaide only in the year before his arrest.

And The Sun Herald has learntit was his co-offender, Peter Ream, also from Adelaide, who introduced Faulkner to others in the syndicate.

Faulkner pleaded guilty to two charges – importing a commercial quantity and attempting to possess a commercial quantity.

Judge Norrish sentenced Faulkner to 19 years and six months and 16 years and six months respectively with the longer sentence to commence on November 4, 2018 and expire on May 3, 2038. The earliest he is eligible for parole is November 3, 2029. Sydney man Fafiro Keo was jailed for six years and six months and Peter Ream for six years. Mr X, also from Sydney, was jailed for nine years and nine months and will be eligible for parole in 2017.