Annette Louise Holland, 52, smuggled meth and marijuana into Capricornia Correctional Centre

After receiving a phone call from her son from prison, a Central Queensland grandmother took two parcels of drugs from a ‘mystery woman’ before setting off up highway toward Etna Creek. It cost her dearly.

A Central Queensland prisoner took advantage of his mother’s vulnerability to smuggle drugs to him at Capricornia Correctional Centre,

His mother, Annette Louise Holland, 52, pleaded guilty on October 14 in the Supreme Court in Rockhampton to three counts of supplying drugs in a prison, three of possessing dangerous drugs and one of possessing an item prohibited in prison.

The court heard Holland’s 22-year-old son, William Kenneth Brown, had been sentenced to 18 months prison to be suspended after serving three months.

Justice Graeme Crow chastised Holland, saying this was not a solution to her son’s problems.

“The vast majority of people in prison are there for drugs,” he said.

Annette Louise Holland, 52, pleaded guilty to three counts of supplying drugs in a prison, three of possessing dangerous drugs and one of possessing an item prohibited in prison.

Justice Crow said the point of sending people to prison, where there was not supposed to be any drugs, was to get them away from drugs.

Defence barrister Sheridan Shaw said Holland received one phone call from her son while he was in prison and visited him once before she was intercepted with the drugs at Capricornia Correctional Centre at Etna Creek.

“She was given the packages … by a mystery lady,” she said.

“She suspected what was in them.”

Ms Shaw pointed out the packages, as shown in photographs supplied to the court, were not unwrapped before being intercepted.

Holland left her Gladstone home and visited her son at Etna Creek on March 22, 2020 at 12.25pm.

She was taken to a room for a security check and due to intelligence, police suspected she had drugs to supply in the facility.

Two parcels were discovered in her bra, one in each breast cup.

Annette Louise Holland.

The parcels contained 1.825 grams of methamphetamines, 6.4g of marijuana, 30 strips of buprenorphine and 9.2g of tobacco.

The court heard Holland had a lifelong psychological disorder – psycho-schizoaffective disorder – and a secondary diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorder due to long-term use of illicit substances.

She was using marijuana daily for a long time and was injected meth daily in the week before the prison intercept.

Two psychiatrist reports and other medical documents were tendered to the court which discussed Holland’s vulnerability, as she reported to health officials she found it hard to say no if repeatedly asked to do something.

Ms Shaw said Holland had been hearing voices in the lead up to the prison offence.

She said since this offending, Holland was granted NDIS assistance for three hours, four days a week.

Ms Shaw said Holland had not reoffended since the prison intercept.

She said Holland cared for her daughter, 29, who also had a psycho-schizoaffective disorder.

Ms Shaw said Holland’s husband died in January 202o and her nearest relative was her sister in Maryborough.

The court heard the grandmother of seven was considering relocating north near other relatives.

Justice Crow sentenced Holland to 18 months prison with immediate parole.