Construction industry in shock as project manager and well-known triathlete is accused of cocaine and fentanyl smuggling plot

A Melbourne construction worker was allegedly caught attempting to smuggle one of the world’s most addictive and dangerous drugs into Australia.

Bernard McDowell fronted Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday after he was charged with serious drug importation offences.

The 33-year-old, who is also a triathlon competitor, allegedly attempted to import a marketable quantity of fentanyl through Melbourne Airport on February 15 this year.

McDowell was accused of moving the deadly synthetic opioid – responsible for 2,272 overdose fatalities in 2023 – onto Australian shores after federal authorities intercepted his allegedly illicit wares.

He was also charged with attempting to import a marketable quantity of cocaine via the airport, also on February 15.

McDowell, who lists his employment as a project manager within the construction and design industry, was also allegedly caught attempting to import Body Protection Compound 157 (BPC-157).

That substance is an experimental synthetic peptide that is unapproved for human use and banned by anti-doping agencies.

The Australian Federal Police charged McDowell shortly after the alleged drugs were seized.

The court heard testing on the substances was yet to be completed despite the prosecution being granted extra time to ensure this had taken place.

The Magistrates’ Court ordered the testing be fast tracked so that McDowell’s matter could be progressed.

McDowell has competed in various triathlon events around the country and is well known in those athletic circles. The Mail understands that news of his arrest came as a shock to those in the construction and running communities.

Fentanyl, which is roughly 100 times more potent than morphine, is widely trafficked on US streets and has been cited in the decline of cities such as San Francisco, Philadelphia and Baltimore. It is now beginning to surface in Australian cities.

It can be deadly in pinprick sizes and is often cut into other drugs, including heroin, cocaine, crack and ketamine, to increase the potency of those substances.

Fentanyl is sometimes pressed to appear like other prescription medications including Xanax and Valium. Users often have no idea they have taken the dangerous opioid.

Cheap to manufacture, the dangers are amplified in illegally produced fentanyl.

By contrast, peptides like BPC-157 are taking social media by storm, touted as the newest health and wellness fix and promising everything from anti-ageing benefits to rapid weight loss.

The supposed benefits range from enhancing your tan to speeding up muscle recovery, but much of the hype is driven by bold claims that lack solid scientific backing.

However, medical professionals are worried because some peptides being sold online are unregulated and have only been tested on animals.

‘Peptides are short chains of amino acids that produce some effect on the body,’ Dr Kieran Dang, chief medical officer of men’s health platform Mosh,  previously told the Mail.

‘Insulin is a natural peptide, and semaglutide (aka Ozempic/Wegovy) is a synthetic peptide that’s been properly studied and approved. What’s trending now are experimental peptide drugs that have not been approved for human use.’

Dr Dang says the health risks are significant, particularly when it comes to ‘peptide stacking’.

‘Peptide stacking is when people inject multiple peptides at the same time to try to speed up recovery, muscle gain or fat loss,’ he says.

McDowell, of Port Melbourne, had his bail extended and will next appear on June 12.