By Catherine Strohfeldt,Cloe Read,Courtney Kruk

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A Gold Coast man accused of running an illegal euthanasia operation had set up a charity to euthanise beached whales as a front to obtain veterinary drugs, detectives believe.

Queensland police allege the animal drugs were then sold to customers to facilitate suicides.

Homicide detectives began investigating Brett Daniel Taylor, 53, and his 80-year-old father after the death of a 43-year-old man from Hope Island, identified as David Llwellyn Bedford, whose toxicology report showed he died from acute pentobarbitone toxicity – related to the ingestion of a euthanasia drug for animals.

Further investigations by police led to the discovery of a business called End of Life Services that offered death services, including a “finding service where [Taylor] can turn up and locate the deceased after they’ve ended their life”.