Former rugby league player Jamil Hopoate has been jailed for three years and nine months for his role in a massive importation of cocaine into Australia.
The ex-Brisbane Broncos player hugged his teary partner Shae Breathe and kissed his two-year-old daughter as he was led out of the dock by corrective officers.
Other family members stood up in the public gallery, blew kisses and were heard saying, "I love you Jamil".
Undercover officers arrested him at gunpoint after he was caught trying to collect eight blocks of white powder from a truck in Sydney in May last year.
He was paid $10,000 as a courier to move the drugs and was considered low in the hierarchy, the NSW District Court heard.
Judge Sharron Norton accepted the offence was committed for "financial gain" but to feed an addiction to gambling rather than to "fund a lavish lifestyle".
Strict bail conditions have meant he has been unable to use drugs, consume alcohol or gamble since the offence was committed.
Judge Norton accepted Hopoate was remorseful with good prospects of rehabilitation but ordered he spend a minimum of two years and three months behind bars.
"This is a serious offence and deterrence has a significant role to play," Judge Norton said.
"I am satisfied no sentence other than one involving full-time custody would reflect the criminality encompassed in the offender's conduct."
Hopoate — who was dressed in a suit and tie — will be eligible for parole in July 2024.
His father — former Manly winger and bad boy John Hopoate — was absent from the sentencing — but described his son as "extremely remorseful" who "aspires to be a better version of himself" in a letter read to the court.
Federal police originally found more than 500 kilograms of cocaine hidden in toolboxes after intercepting a package from London at Sydney Airport in May 2021.
The drugs were switched with "filler" and plain-clothed officers then watched Hopoate collect eight slabs from Port Botany.
He led police on a brief chase through the suburbs before trying to flee in a silver van driven by his co-accused Leanne Mafoa.
She pleaded guilty to a charge of being an accessory after the fact to supplying a prohibited drug.
Judge Norton gave her an 18 month suspended sentence, meaning she was allowed to return home.
Hopoate's lawyer Mahmoud Abbas said his client's prospects of rehabilitation were positive and he can look beyond his sentence to a life after rugby league.
"I think [it's a] very appropriate sentence, Mr Hopoate will be very pleased with that," Mr Abbas said.
"Now he can move on with his life and fix all the issues that he has.
"I think the prospects of rehabilitation are quite good, he's clearly shown an abstinence from any offending behaviour in the last couple of years and I think it's a very, very positive look for him."
Hopoate has previously avoided jail for domestic violence offences against his wife.
He was dumped from the Manly Sea Eagles in 2014 when he was jailed over an unprovoked attack outside a pub.
Hopoate returned to the NRL in 2020, where he played 12 games for Brisbane, before he was let go.
