AS AUSTRALIA was gearing up for the second series of Underbelly, the son of one of its main characters was having his own brush with the law on a small Caribbean island, once the centre of the slave trade.
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Adam Sonny Freeman, son of the colourful racing identity George Freeman, and two friends had been travelling across the Atlantic in the yacht I'l Dapprima when, in early February, they were intercepted by the coast guard of the Netherlands Antilles - formally the Dutch West Indies. They had stopped to help a friend whose boat had transmission trouble when the coast guard boarded and searched the yacht for the next two days.
When the officers eventually found $US190,000 ($270,000) in what was described to the Herald as a "secret compartment" on the yacht, they must have smelled a rat.
The Netherlands Antilles includes the island of Curacao, which is close to the coast of Venezuela and is described by the CIA as a money-laundering centre. It is also allegedly a tax haven and gaming resort and is located in known pirate waters.
Its tourism authority, however, spruiks the island's rich heritage and thriving culture, sunny climate and good diving. But it is doubtful the men were able to enjoy much of this.
Mr Freeman, 25, and his friends Blake Geoffrey Ellis, 23, and Andrew James Moss, 25, were imprisoned and charged with money laundering, failing to declare the money they had in their possession and the theft of a dinghy.
The men had been sailing for about five months, leaving Egypt, travelling through the Mediterranean via the Canary Islands to the Caribbean.
The Australian Federal Police and the Australian high commission in Trinidad and Tobago were consulted but yesterday the AFP would not comment on its involvement.
The families of the three apparently joined forces and supplied authorities with information about the funds they had supplied their sons while on their trip as proof of the legitimate origin of the money.
It was needed for diesel fuel, marina fees, boat repairs, expenses and crew wages, authorities were told.
Eventually, authorities withdrew charges and the three men were allowed to leave - without their yacht or the cash.
They were told if they wanted to claim those back they would have to return to give evidence in a Curacao court.
Mr Freeman, the oldest son of George Freeman, owns a nightclub promotions company associated with numerous Kings Cross and Oxford Street venues, with his brother David George Freeman.
Yesterday Mr Freeman confirmed that the three had faced charges but said that the charges had been dropped because "the money is all legal money".
All three have connections with waterfront properties in Woolooware Road, Woolooware, in Sydney's south.
Mr Ellis had another lucky break two weeks ago when charges that he resisted a police officer during an incident at the UN nightclub in April 2008 were dismissed at the Downing Centre Local Court.
