Boy, 16, who set himself up as a drug trafficker with almost 1kg of ecstasy to be sentenced as an adult
UPDATED: A BOY who started his own drug trafficking business, with 1kg of ecstasy will be sentenced as an adult — and, unlike Nicole Tucker’s killer — will receive an adult penalty.
A BOY who started his own drug trafficking business with 1kg of ecstasy will be sentenced as an adult — and, unlike Nicole Tucker’s killer — will receive an adult penalty.
On Friday, the Youth Court ordered the teenager, 16, face sentencing in the District Court for having imported extremely large quantities of MDMA into Australia using the internet.
He now faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
The ruling is a victory for Commonwealth prosecutors, who said the boy should face an adult jail term to deter the rising number of youths setting themselves up as traffickers.
Because he committed a Federal crime, the boy will be exempt from the Young Offenders Act’s requirement his “care, protection and guidance” be prioritised over penalty.
That legislation saw the speeding, repeat-offending teen hoon who killed Mrs Tucker in a fiery Southern Expressway crash receive a minimum term of just 18 months.
Community outrage over that sentence prompted Attorney-General John Rau SC to draft an amendment permitting minors to receive adult sentences for “extreme” crimes.
The boy, 16, pleaded guilty to importing two parcels of MDMA, weighing 771.5g and 77.5g respectively, between June and July last year.
The weight of those drugs is 155 times the amount recognised as a marketable quantity under Australian law.
During a search of his home and car, police found multiple bags of pills, $5000 cash and electronic scales with a residue of ecstasy.
Analysis of his computer showed he had performed Google searches on “how to launder money” and where to “buy 5kg of MDMA”.
He had also written, but had yet to upload, a Facebook status reading ‘I am a drug dealer’.”
Last month, Federal prosecutors asked he be remanded to the District Court and sentenced as an adult, as he was the sole proprietor — and beneficiary — of his trafficking business.
Defence counsel opposed that move, insisting the boy had “become involved” in drug importation “at the suggestion of others”.
On Friday, Judge Penny Eldridge granted the Commonwealth DPP’s application due to “the gravity of the offending”.
“There appears to be strong evidence to support the defendant’s significant involvement in the commission of these offences,” she said.
“The offences are at the serious end of the scale of criminality and the circumstances of them are grave.”
She remanded the boy on continuing bail to face the District Court in September.