Kristine Eleanor Roebig sentenced for drug trafficking, supply

A mother who battled to raise awareness of a rare neurological disease plaguing her family has been exposed as a drug trafficker and supplier.

A Brisbane mum and former charity campaigner will spend the next year behind bars after she was sentenced for trafficking and supplying ice.

Kristine Eleanor Roebig, 51, appeared before Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday with friends and family to learn her fate after pleading guilty to 11 counts of drug related offences, including drug trafficking, supply, possession and receiving tainted property.

The court was told Ms Roebig had been charged after police raided her Bald Hills home in November 2019 after an investigation was launched into her drug dealings, which were discovered from a search of her phone following an arrest in May 2019.

Ms Roebig’s drug use escalated in 2016, nearly a decade after she started a charity in 2007 to raise awareness and money for the disease Ataxia-telangiectasia.

The mother of three had launched the charity after two of her children were diagnosed with the condition.

Kristine Eleanor Roebig had her house raided in 2019 after police discovered she’d been supplying ice. Picture: Facebook

Crown Prosecutor Ron Swanick said Ms Roebig had on 57 occasions discussed supplying methamphetamine ranging between 0.1g and 1.75g to customers between September 5 and November 18 in 2019.

The court was told she had actually supplied the drug 10 times to her customers during the 10-week period.

“She was certainly well known as a reliable supplier of drugs, she dealt with complaints about the quality of drugs she sold,” Mr Swanick said.

The court was told Ms Roebig had sold 1.75g of ice for $350, and that police had found $3000 in cash had been deposited into her bank account during September and October of that year.

Mr Swanick said Ms Roebig had also negotiated with clients where, in lieu of money, she would be happy to receive goods such as handbags and sunglasses, even if they were stolen.

She was also found to have supplied drugs on four occasions earlier in the year prior to her arrest in May 2019.

Ms Roebig’s defence barrister, Scott Lynch, said his client’s disabled children, who are now 18 and 17 years old respectively, still relied on their mother’s support despite not residing with her.

Kristine Eleanor Roebig appeared in Brisbane Supreme Court after she was caught trafficking ice and other drugs in 2019.

Mr Lynch said if Roebig was to be sentenced to time in custody, she was at risk of losing her home, which has been fitted out with wheelchair accessibility.

Mr Lynch said his client had significantly reduced her drug use since her arrest and was willing to do drug testing if given immediate parole.

Mr Lynch said when police raided her house, they found “no evidence of any glamour or opulence”.

He said she was “not blind to what might happen” during her sentencing and had made arrangements for someone to move in to help repay the mortgage – but keeping the house wasn’t assured because of her lack of income.

Justice David Jackson sentenced Ms Roebig on Thursday to three years and six months in jail.

She will be eligible for parole on December 1, 2023.

Justice Jackson said he opted to give Ms Roebig a “significantly less” amount of time in jail before she’s eligible for parole compared to the usual one third of time served required by the courts.

“I am doing that specifically because of the antecedents and the because the factor of the ongoing needs your two disabled children have of your support,” he said.

Justice Jackson said Ms Roebig’s likelihood of reoffending if she was not sentenced to time in jail was “too high”.

Originally published as Kristine Eleanor Roebig sentenced for drug trafficking, supply