Alicia Bartley was selling up to $100k of methamphetamine a week from her Angle Park home
A mother-of-six used an encrypted phone to run the succesful drug business from her inner-suburban home - dealing up to $100k of meth a week.
Police & Courts
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A mother of six used an encrypted phone to run a successful drug business from her suburban home, where she was selling as much $100,000 a week of methamphetamine.
Alicia Bartley, 39, from Angle Park, was one of the first people charged under Operation Ironside to plead guilty after she admitted three counts of trafficking in a controlled drug.
But despite having dependant children and health issues, prosecutors are pushing for Bartley to be jailed for her role as a “mid-level drug wholesaler”.
During sentencing submissions earlier this month a prosecutor told District Court Judge Michael Burnett that messages sent over the compromised AN0M app showed Bartley was buying ounces of methamphetamine for resale to other people.
Though she was only charged with three offences of drug trafficking, the court heard that those offences were against a background of constant drug dealing for several months in 2021.
Bartley sent a message over the device to an associate saying that on a slow week she was selling eight ounces a week, worth roughly $36,000 on the street.
However, in a good week she was shifting as much as 20 ounces, which fetches between $90,000 and $100,000 on the street.
When Bartley’s home was raided in June 7, 2021, police found 5.4g of methamphetamine hidden in the laundry room as well as $11,200 cash.
Casey Isaacs, for Bartley, told the court his client had started using methamphetamine at the age of 15 following a car crash.
She kicked the habit and remained drug free for more than 14 years, during which she had her children.
In 2018, she started using the drug again after being involved in another car crash.
“Leading up to this incident her brother was in custody,” Mr Isaacs said.
“He was the subject of a violent assault while in custody and ongoing threats and that related to a drug debt that he accumulated before going into custody.
“The effect was that the debt was effectively transferred on to Bartley to try to repay or there would be serious consequence for not only her brother, but for her immediate family.”
Mr Isaacs urged the court to suspend any sentence or allow Bartley to serve the sentence on home detention.
He said Bartley suffered from several medical conditions including chronic pain, which he said would be unable to be treated adequately in prison.
When Bartley was arrested she initially said “I don’t traffic anything” and complained she was being charged for “god knows what”.
She will be sentenced next month, almost two years to the day since she was arrested.
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