Lawyer turned drug addict: how meth can destroy anyone

HE WAS the millionaire lawyer who had built himself up from nothing. Now he’s had to undergo drug tests to prove he should be allowed to practise law again.

HE WAS the millionaire lawyer who had built himself up from nothing. Now he's had to take charity from his former wife and undergo drug tests to prove he should be allowed to practise law again.

Nigel Munt's story shows how meth can destroy anyone.

Munt made millions when the law firm he was a partner of, Trilby Misso, was bought out. He bought a farm outside Gympie but agriculture's stresses ended his marriage.

He soon met a woman named Vicky Taylor - who he did not know was heavily addicted to meth. They started dating and were soon living together with Ms Taylor's son to Craig Cant.

Soon after, Cant was released from jail and went to the Sunshine Coast where he and Munt met. They became unlikely friends.

Within weeks of meeting Cant revealed to Munt he planned to import pseudoephedrine from Indonesia to start producing meth - and planned to raise money by selling more meth. Ms Taylor's drug use had become known to Munt as she became violent and enraged when sober.

Cant eventually moved onto the farm where Munt and Taylor were already living. Munt began buying drugs for Ms Taylor from Cant. After a particularly long day, Cant suggested Munt try meth to help him keep going. He was hooked. He began buying for himself and Ms Taylor and invested thousands in Cant's operation.

Police began targeting Cant's growing supply business, tapping his phone and making 50,000 recordings - many implicating Munt in the business.

He pleaded guilty in Brisbane Supreme Court to trafficking and supplying methylamphetamine.

The court barred any mention of the case until Cant's expected month-long trial, and any potential appeals, were complete. On Wednesday that was lifted when Cant pleaded guilty in Brisbane Supreme Court to trafficking meth, supplying meth and growing marijuana and was sentenced to eight years in jail.

The court heard Munt, 44, was now close to penniless and had been relying on his former wife's assistance to get by. He had provided hundreds of voluntary drug tests to the Queensland Law Society to convince them he was drug-free.

Munt escaped spending more time behind bars - convincing Justice Ann Lyons he posed little threat to the community.

"You have experienced your utter ruination," she said.

"Given that you were an officer of the court … there was no doubt that you were aware of the serious nature of your conduct."

He was sentenced to three years prison wholly suspended.

Originally published as Lawyer turned drug addict: how meth can destroy anyone