Nine years jail for drug kingpin

A SUPREME Court justice told the kingpin of a Bundaberg-based drug syndicate that his activities wasted lives and ruined families.

A SUPREME Court justice told the kingpin of a Bundaberg-based drug syndicate that his activities wasted lives and ruined families in Queensland's regional centres as she sentenced him to nine years' jail.

Justice Ros Atkinson said Mathew Sam Bost was the head of a sophisticated operation which involved assigning multiple couriers and suppliers to distribute and buy drugs along the Queensland coast.

Bost's activity extended to Rockhampton, Townsville, Sarina and interstate to Sydney and Darwin.

Analysis revealed Bost had earned $621,912 above his known income source in the period between June 1, 2008 and February 10, 2011.

Justice Atkinson said the value of the "sophisticated" trafficking business must be more than that but "it's impossible to quantify an accurate true value".

"I know from other cases the havoc that is created in regional centres, like Bundaberg, by activities from persons such as you," she said.

"You were communicating almost daily with a number of people about the supply of drugs, collection of money, amounts of money owed and various classed of drugs."

The court was told that the police gained much evidence from phone intercepts and from Bost's associates.

Officers conducted simultaneous searches in February, 2011, on syndicate members including Bost's Moorland home.

Police found 23.33g of liquid steroid, $7600 cash, ammunition, knuckledusters, 19 mobile phones, eight sim cards and five laptops.

Justice Atkinson said Bost had an extensive criminal history but this conduct dwarfed previous offences.

She declared the trafficking a serious violent offence, which means Bost must serve 80% of his sentence before he can apply for parole.

Bost has already spent 926 days in custody so he will become eligible for parole release in mid-2018.

The court heard he was a father of two and played a father role to a third child.

He was a amphetamine and steroid user.