Trafficking charges unresolved as Ivan Tesic convicted of meth oil possession
Accused drug kingpin Ivan Tesic held his hands up in the air and then put his head in his hands when a jury returned a shock verdict in his drug trafficking trial, which included possession of $11 million worth of meth oil.
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ACCUSED ice kingpin Ivan Tesic has been convicted of possession of six litres of meth oil, with a street value of $11 million.
In Brisbane Supreme Court today, the jury of nine men and three women who sat through six days of evidence told Justice Glenn Martin they had found him guilty of the second charge — possession of six bottles containing six litres of meth oil — in a majority decision of 11 jurors.
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As the jury handed down its verdict, Tesic held his hands up in the air, and then put his head down and rubbed his eyes in shock, shaking his head in disbelief.
Tesic’s girlfriend cried and his brothers shook their heads.
But after eight hours of deliberation, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the charge of ice trafficking.
Twice a jury has looked at the evidence against accused ice kingpin Ivan Tesic and has been unable to decide whether he is guilty or innocent of trafficking the drug.
If the 45-year-old muscle-car enthusiast is to face a third trial for trafficking, it will be up to the state’s Director of Public Prosecutions.
Tesic, who pleaded not guilty and chose not to take the witness stand or call any evidence, was in a similar position in June 2017, when the jury deliberated for nearly three days after nine days of evidence, before telling Justice Debra Mullins that they could not agree on a decision on both charges -- even if allowed to give a majority verdict.
The first hint of the jury’s struggle with the evidence against Tesic came just two hours into their deliberations, with their first question at 2.30pm yesterday.
Jurors asked if they could be allowed to view a police statement given by the supergrass witness which implicated Tesic.
The request was denied.
Their growing indecision was obvious again at 3.49pm, when they asked for the charges against Tesic to be read to them again, and asked for an explanation of “the meaning of carrying out a business, what sort of conduct of activities would constitute this?” and “the meaning of control in relation to possession and some examples”.
Justice Martin read the two charges aloud and gave the jury a copy.
The first charge is that on dates unknown between July 31, 2013, and March 21, 2014, at Gold Coast and elsewhere in Queensland Tesic carried on a business of unlawful trafficking in methamphetamines.
The second charge is that Tesic unlawfully had possession of over 200g of methamphetamine on March 20, 2014, at the Isle of Capri.
He also explained that a person who carried on a business of unlawfully trafficking in dangerous drugs is guilty of a crime.
“The law is that mere occasional sales of a drug does not amount to the carrying on a business of selling, because carrying on a business requires more than a few isolated transactions,” Justice Martin explained.
He said that the jury needed to be satisfied Tesic had “a continuous course of conduct... to obtain a reward or a return of a commercial character... it could be other drugs”.
“You would look to see... that there has been a repetition of acts and activities of a commercial nature which suggest a permanent character.. not just being done in an isolated way,” Justice Martin said.
“It is for you to decide whether or not the evidence falls within that category.”
Justice Martin also explained that prosecutors were not alleging methamphetamine oil was in Tesic’s physical possession, but rather that Tesic “could exercise power over” the oil.
He explained that Tesic did not need to have the oil in his clothing or briefcase to prove it was under his control.
“It is enough for the prosecution to demonstrate that (Tesic) could exercise power over these drugs and that exercise of power occurred at 108 Amalfi Drive, Isle of Capri,” Justice Martin explained.
Tesic has been remanded in custody. He is due to be sentenced on Monday.
His lawyer told the court he planned to appeal the conviction for possession.
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