Timothy Smith from Married At First Sight (MAFS) quickly became a fan favourite this year after being paired with literal angel Lucinda Light. He came onto the show weeks after his father passed away, but it turns out his sordid past was much, much sadder.
In an interview on A Current Affair last night, he revealed that he previously made millions smuggling drugs from Canada to the US. He ended up being thrown in prison, and both his mum and brother died while he was locked up.
He hid this from MAFS producers due to feeling a sense of shame, and has decided to tell his story as a warning to others considering making a similar decision.
“I’m sorry for what I did. I’m sorry to everyone I hurt. But I don’t want anyone to do what I did,” the groom admitted.
He continued: “That decision in 2006 keeps affecting me. Unfortunately or fortunately it shapes who I am today.”
How did Timothy get into drug smuggling?
The Aussie, affectionately nicknamed the ‘Tin Man’ for his guarded personality, started smuggling drugs in 2006. While in a nightclub in Canada – where he was living at the time – he was asked to train as a helicopter pilot.
“Someone threw some money at me and said, ‘Go and take a lesson tomorrow’. I did, and the instructor said I was a natural. That was the beginning of the end,” he said.
Once he was qualified, he flew marijuana regularly across the Canadian border into the US, making $100,000 for every mission.
“I would take off from a little unmanned airport. I had the helicopter sorted and I’d fly up a valley and into a creek… I’d meet a 4WD and land behind it and within a minute the helicopter would be loaded with marijuana and I’d fly south into the US,” he explained.
He ended up making over 20 trips over the border before his bad decisions caught up with him.
How was MAFS’ Timothy caught smuggling drugs?
The young helicopter pilot took a few days off later that year when he found out his mum Naree had cancer. After heading back to Australia to spend time with family, he returned to his life in North America, but a nasty surprise awaited him in Los Angeles.
Timothy was faced with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents when he got off the plane, and he said his “world changed”. He was locked up in a federal facility and handed a prison term of one year for drug trafficking.
“If I could go back and change it, I would. There’s no question I’d change it,” he said.
He continued: “I wasn’t there when my mother and brother died. I paid the price. I pay the price every day.”
Timothy is hoping to work with community groups to help others not make the same mistakes he did.
