Mathew Albert Ramsamy pleads guilty to aggravated possession of GHB after police raided a Mackay home in 2018

The father of three claimed the drug was his ‘bodyguard’ and he needed it on him 24/7.

Mackay father of three jailed over GHB possession.

A Mackay father referred to a bottle of GHB as “my black magic shit” after hiding from police in a cupboard.

Mathew Albert Ramsamy claimed he needed to carry the drug on him 24/7 to ward off evil spirits.

It has taken almost three and a half years and 12 court mentions for his case to be finalised.

The offending occurred on February 7, 2018.

Mackay District Court heard police executed a search warrant at a home and found Ramsamy “hiding in a cupboard”.

Inside his bag officers found a 50ml Dettol bottle “which contained a pale yellow liquid”.

Ramsamy told police, “it’s my black magic shit, I need to carry it on me 24/7 or it doesn’t work”.

“He claimed he used it to ward off evil spirits and that if police took it from him he would go wild and cry,” Crown legal officer Emily Thambyah told the court.

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“He was given to bottle from his father two weeks prior and described it as his bodyguard.

“He encouraged police to ask his black magic doctor about (its) protective properties.”

The court heard an analysis revealed there was 11.296 grams of pure GHB in 47.463 grams of liquid.

Ms Thambyah said once the liquid was identified, police had difficulty tracking Ramsamy down and an arrest warrant was issued in April 2019.

He was arrested later that year. The court heard Ramsamy had initially pleaded not guilty in the magistrates court and the case had been listed 12 times before it was set down for sentence in the district court.

Ramsamy pleaded guilty aggravated possession of a schedule two drug.

Defence barrister Stephen Byrne his client, a father of three, began using marijuana after work from age 18 before moving into using ice.

“Mr Ramsamy has received some drug counselling from Lives Lived Well,” Mr Byrne said.

The court heard a letter written by Ramsamy’s estranged wife was a classic example of how “drugs can ruin relationships”.

“Obviously he still has her support at some level which he is a very lucky many to have,” Judge Ian Dearden said.

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The court heard his working life started out well, but was more infrequent now.

Mr Byrne said Ramsamy was seeking help for his mental health issues.

“You as a young man met a beautiful young woman at high school, you have children, you’re married, you have two houses … and you have burnt the lot through drugs, simple as that,” Judge Dearden said.

In her letter to the court Ramsamy’s wife said, “We watched our number one choose a life we couldn’t complete with and letting him go was detrimental to our health, there was simply nothing more we could do.”

Judge Dearden accepted Ramsamy had been a good person “who has made some very poor choices”.

Ramsamy was jailed for nine months with immediate parole. A conviction was recorded.