Cairns woman Kim Louise Parsons pleads guilty to two counts of possessing dangerous drug
A Department of Transport and Main Roads worker has been sentenced after she was busted with up to $500,000 worth of meth, a Cairns court has heard.
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A Department of Transport and Main Roads worker who gradually became a daily meth user after her husband was jailed has been busted with up to $74,000 worth of the drug, a Cairns court has heard.
Kim Louise Parsons, 50, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a dangerous drug, one charge being in excess of 2g in Cairns Supreme Court on Monday.
Parsons had 49.2g, of which 38.26g was pure methamphetamine.
If sold in points - which is .1 of a gram, at $100 per point, the meth had a potential street value of $500,000.
The court heard Parsons worked for the Department of Transport and Main Roads and had been candid with them and she would retain her employment unless she was sent to jail.
Parsons became a habitual meth user in her late 30s and her husband had descended into his own drug use and by the time he was sent to jail in 2020, she had a daily drug addiction, the court heard.
Parsons received a sentence of two years and six months imprisonment, with a parole release date of October 16, 2023.
She was ordered to pay a $7000 fine with a defeault of six months imprisonment to be served cumulatively, and with the fine to be paid by February 29, 2024.
Her husband Graham Edward Parsons was released on parole following his third drug conviction less than a month ago.
Ms Parsons hadn’t intended to buy so much meth but was persuaded to do so, the court heard.
There was no evidence she was supplying drugs, she was cooperative with police, and had undergone substantial rehabilitation.
A TMR spokesman said due to privacy considerations it was not able to comment on personal matters involving employees.
“In general, once legal proceedings are complete and we have been notified of an outcome, TMR will commence an internal review of the matter with a view to determining an appropriate outcome,” the spokesman said.
Graham Parsons, 57, was convicted for trafficking marijuana between September 2014 and September 2016.
In September 2016, police raided his Bungalow drug “safe house” in September 2016 and found 16.7kg of cannabis, quantities of methamphetamines, MDMA and other illicit substances, along with $50,000 cash.
He lost his job as the Far North’s most senior Queensland Rail Driver and was sentenced to four years jail with parole eligibility after a year.
The court heard in July that the father-of-three was earning more than $120,000 from his salary and was likely to have profited up to $33,000 from selling cannabis between May 2015 and September 2016.
Mr Parsons was before Cairns Supreme Court in July 2022, when he was convicted and sentenced for multiple counts of possession of drugs including 50g of methamphetamine, more than 500g of cannabis, as well as possession of utensils, pipes, weapons and almost $15,000 suspected of being the proceeds of an offence.
He was busted just one month after his parole period had ended for his four-year sentence from 2017.
In 2010, he was fined $2,500 for possessing 2.3kg of cannabis.
He had been with Queensland Rail for 38 years.
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