Matthew Messina: Darwin dad busted with 3.16kg of cannabis, $20,000 cash in safes
A married father-of-three sourced an enormous quantity of cannabis and began flogging it off to fund his own daily use of the drug, the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory has heard.
Northern Territory
Don't miss out on the headlines from Northern Territory. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A Darwin father-of-three was found in possession of more than three kilograms of cannabis, $20,000 cash in a safe, and a drug ledger when police executed a search warrant on his northern suburbs residence, a court has heard.
Moil man Matthew Marty Messina, 44, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory at Darwin to one count each of supplying a commercial quantity of cannabis and possessing currency obtained from the commission of an offence.
Messina was sentenced by Justice Judith Kelly on June 18.
The court heard that a search warrant was executed at Messina’s residence at 5pm on February 22 last year.
When officers arrived, Messina ran into the backyard and threw a bag containing 906.1g of cannabis over his back fence.
After combing through his property, police discovered a total of 3.16kg of cannabis, $20,000 cash split between two safes, a drug ledger on a piece of paper, and a Cryovac vacuum sealer, the court was told.
Analysis of his mobile phone revealed evidence of drug sales.
Messina told officers he purchased cannabis in bulk and would sell some to “offset” his costs.
Messina, who was born in Canberra and moved to Darwin in 1990, had a criminal history of some relevance: a string of minor drug matters across Queensland and the Northern Territory.
The court was told Messina, who is married and has three children under the age of 10, suffered a serious back injury in 2020 while working in a supply depot.
The injury required two invasive surgeries, five minor procedures, and caused the defendant to become addicted to prescription painkillers, Justice Kelly told the court.
“You started using medicinal cannabis and you say that significantly improved your quality of life,” she said.
“At the time you committed this offence, you were using cannabis every day.
“You are now being prescribed medicinal cannabis under medical supervision, and you use that every day for pain management.”
Justice Kelly found that, notwithstanding his own use of the drug, he operated his scheme with at least some intention of receiving a commercial gain.
She also found that the defendant attempted to minimise his conduct when engaging with court-appointed officers as part of the pre-sentence process.
Justice Kelly sentenced Messina to three years and six months imprisonment, wholly suspended for an operational period of two and a half years, conditional upon him being under the supervision of Community Corrections.
Messina also forfeited the portion of cash found to be the proceeds of drug sales – $16,000.
More Coverage
Originally published as Matthew Messina: Darwin dad busted with 3.16kg of cannabis, $20,000 cash in safes
CareFlight evacs nine to hospital after 4WD rollover
A crime scene is still in place near the Daly River and Dorat road intersections as police investigate a single vehicle rollover that hospitalised nine.
LISTED: All the winners from the Motorsports NT Awards
Motorsports NT celebrated another huge year for its thousands of members in its annual awards night celebrating the best competitors, volunteers and officials. Check out all the winners.