A truck driver who transported kilograms of meth, cocaine and ecstasy from Sydney to Western Australia has been jailed for more than 16 years for his integral part in the interstate syndicate - which was foiled, in part, by a seven-foot kangaroo.

Rodney John Chadburne, 48, was the principal courier for the gang who were trying to import drugs worth hundreds of thousands of dollars into WA hidden in gear transmission boxes.

In 2014, Chadburne was on one such trip when his vehicle carrying the drugs was badly damaged in a collision with a kangaroo near Broken Hill. Chadburne later told an associate the roo was the “biggest c**t you had ever seen”, at about seven feet tall.

The damage inflicted in the collision forced Chadburne to source a new vehicle to transport his drugs – in which he also stashed a $200,000 package of cocaine in the wheel arch.

After being stopped, arrested and released on bail by police, Chadburne tried to track down the vehicle at an auction house in a bid to retrieve the package of drugs.

But police intercepted the calls, and became suspicious – using a drugs dog to find the stashed drugs, and gain more evidence against Chadburne.

After being found guilty after trial late last year, Chadburne was given a 16-and-a-half year sentence by Judge Christopher Stevenson, who said he had shown “stupidity and greed” in trying to recover the cocaine hidden in the car.

“It was also a one stop shop attempt to sell or supply the drugs, by reason of the three different types of drugs involved in the shipment,” Judge Stevenson said. Chadburne will be eligible for parole in early 2031