Street-dealing grandmother-to-be jailed for trafficking and supplying drugs

A soon-to-be grandmother has been sentenced to prison after admitting supplying drugs while on bail for trafficking.

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A street-dealing grandmother-to-be has been jailed for trafficking methamphetamine and posting opioid strips to a friend in prison.

The District Court ordered Marilyn Margaret Sue Guiney, 62, spend at least two years behind bars for the offences, noting she already had a conviction for selling heroin.

Guiney pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in a controlled drug and two counts of supplying a controlled drug.

In sentencing, Judge Michael Boylan said police found Guiney in possession of 3.19g of methamphetamine and $2100 cash on March 15, 2018.

He said officers also found a mobile phone containing text messages indicating she had been dealing the drug since at least January 2018.

“I accept that some of the money had been collected by you from other people to make a bulk buy. I treat you as a street-level dealer,” Judge Boylan said.

Judge Boylan said Guiney was on bail when she twice posted numerous strips of buprenorphine – an opioid used to treat acute and chronic pain – to a friend in prison.

“(He) was a friend of yours who was suffering the effects of drug withdrawal whilst he was in prison,” he said.

“You felt sorry for him and posted to him the strips of buprenorphine. They came from your own supply of that drug, a drug supplied to you to help you with your addiction.”

Judge Boylan said Guiney had a “fairly lengthy criminal history”, including selling, and taking part in the sale of, heroin and selling or supplying a prescription drug.

“I acknowledge your more serious drug offending occurred many years ago in 1993 and 2003. You have been given suspended sentences on a number of occasions in the past,” he said.

Judge Boylan said Guiney had moved away from Port Lincoln after the death of her husband and was soon to be a grandmother.

“You were living in Goolwa at the time of the trafficking offence where you had been homeless, couch surfing,” he said.

“You have a very long history of drug addiction – that is plain from the antecedent report.”

Judge Boylan said while Guiney was in the process of obtaining a referral to Drug and Alcohol Services SA, she had admitted still using drugs to her home-detention officer.

“General deterrence is always important in the case of dealing in illegal drugs and in your case personal deterrence remains important,” he said.

Judge Boylan jailed Guiney for three years, eight months and 12 days. He declined to suspend the two-year non-parole period or allow Guiney to serve the sentence on home detention.