Jay William Politanski pleaded guilty to trafficking meth in Central Highlands

A meth trafficker, who once sold drugs to support his own crippling addiction, has since turned his life around. And efforts following his release helped him avoid going to jail.

Jay William Politanski pleaded guilty to nine charges including meth trafficking over three months in 2021.

A meth trafficker, who sold drugs to support his own crippling addiction, has avoided time behind bars for his impressive rehabilitation efforts.

In 2021 Jay William Politanski was the main mark of a sweeping police operation Tango Gismo that used phone taps and surveillance to target drug trafficking in the Central Highlands.

He was a street level dealer with up to 15 customers to whom he sold meth in varying amounts from 0.1g deals to eight balls (3.5g).

Mackay Supreme Court heard he was generally sought out by drug users, he never advertised his business and he never used violence to recover any debts.

Politanski, a Townsville man, accepted payment in cash or via pay ID and was “not a sophisticated drug trafficker”.

When police raided his home they found 21.604g of pure meth.

He was arrested and on his release on bail his employers told him he was not welcome on site.

Jay William Politanski pleaded guilty to nine charges including meth trafficking over three months in 2021.

The court heard his workspace was searched and 814g of marijuana was found as well as $2460 in cash, which was handed over to police.

Crown prosecutor Tiffany Lawrence was pushing for a custodial sentence arguing the four days Politanski had spent on remand following his arrest was not sufficient.

The 36 year old father pleaded guilty to nine charges including trafficking meth over three months in 2021, aggravated drug possession of meth and marijuana and supplying dangerous drugs.

Defence barrister James Godbolt, for McKay’s Solicitors, pushed for a higher jail term but with an immediate release arguing the offending was “out of character” and his client had “done everything right to put their life back on course”.

Mr Godbolt said Politanski had engaged in trafficking over a relatively short period of time “clearly to fund an addiction my client quickly fell into”.

The court heard he had “coped badly with the failure of his marriage he had spent years working at and building a life”.

“The good news is that he’s very much back on track,” Mr Godbolt said.

Then 34, he fell into drug use after the breakdown in his marriage.

Politanski was dual trade qualified and had secured a head mechanic role with his current employer, who was supportive and also willing to hold open his job for a time.

The court heard there were also numerous negative drug screens proving he was no longer using meth.

“There’s nothing more he could do in terms of rehabilitation,” Justice Graeme Crow said, adding meth trafficking was a serious offence with a maximum penalty of 25 years jail.

“The drug does to other people what it did to you.”

Justice Crow said he had to balance punishment and deterrence, personal rehabilitation and community interest, and if there was any benefit to society in returning Politanski to jail and disrupting his rehabilitation.

Ultimately Justice Crow jailed Politanski for 4.5 years immediately suspended, to hang over his head for 4.5 years.

“There’s a massive sentence hanging over your head if you want to play with drugs,” Justice Crow said.

Convictions were recorded.