Young drug-addicted Dalby mum avoids jail for dealing ice

The mother sold drugs to support her addiction.

Crystal meth ice drugs generic

A 20-YEAR-old mother has told a Dalby court she turned to dealing meth to support her own drug habits.

Maddison Kay Egan appeared before Dalby District Court on Wednesday morning to face the charges where her “concerning” criminal history was brought to light.

Crown prosecutor Farook Anoozer told the court Egan participated in “low level drug supplies” when, on four occasions, she sold small amounts - ranging around one gram of marijuana and methylamphetamine - to support her own drug addiction.

Mr Anoozer told the court Egan was intercepted by police who seized a mobile phone and $1650 cash at a service station.

The mobile phone possessed messages indicating the transaction of drugs for money.

Despite the gravity of her crimes, namely the supply charges, Mr Anoozer said he was “not opposing not recording a conviction” because of her age and her prospects of rehabilitation.

Defence lawyer Frank Martin described Egan’s offending as “street-level offending” and told the court his client was “well aware of the danger of drugs”.

Mr Martin said Egan’s mother was imprisoned on a drug trafficking charge, and Egan herself had her four-year-old son removed from her care for reasons believed to be related to her drug addiction.

The lawyer said those two events happened at the same time as her relevant offending.

“She clearly admits she did have a problem with methylamphetamine,” Mr Martin said.

“She did smoke a lot of meth but she hasn’t smoked a lot in the last 12 months.”

Mr Martin said his client had enrolled to do a Certificate III in hospitality, and had engaged in counselling with Lives Lived Well.

Judge Dennis Lynch told Egan he didn’t want to see her offending worsen to the point that she would be imprisoned.

Judge Lynch described her offending as the “lower end of the scale of drug supplies” and gave her credit for her early pleas of guilty and “genuine remorse”.

Egan pleaded guilty to four counts of supplying a dangerous drug, possessing a dangerous drug, possession of a thing used in connection with the supply of a dangerous drug, namely a mobile phone, and possessing tainted property, namely the $1650 found in her handbag.

Judge Lynch sentenced her to 18 months probation for the four supply charges, and convicted but did not further punish her for the remaining charges.

Judge Lynch wished the defendant luck and warned her against evading her probation order.

“This is to help you, not give you grief,” he said.

“If you treat them as the enemy, it will cause you more grief.

“We don’t want you to go to jail. Nobody wants to see that.”

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