Billie-Jo Nolan sentenced in Rockhampton Supreme Court

A young mum has avoided having to serve time behind bars after her drug trafficking was discovered in a police operation.

Billie-Jo Nolan pleaded guilty in Rockhampton Supreme Court to drug trafficking offences.

A young mum has escaped having to spend any actual time behind bars after her drug trafficking was uncovered during a police operation.

An emotional Billie-Jo Nolan, 24, pleaded guilty in Rockhampton Supreme Court to a number of offences including drug trafficking, drug supplying and possessing more than 2g of meth.

The charges also included contravening an order about information necessary to access information stored electronically, possessing dangerous drugs, possessing utensils or pipes that had been used, possessing a thing used in the commission of a crime and possessing property suspected of being the proceeds of an offence.

The court heard Nolan’s offending was discovered through the 2022 police operation Uniform Wilton, which targeted drug distribution in the Rockhampton region.

Nolan was discovered as a person of interest and investigations revealed her offending that occurred between April and July 2022 where she was trafficking meth.

During that period police identified Nolan had carried out 21 supplies to eight different customers, ranging in quantities from a point to 1.7g.

The court heard Nolan had made admissions to police which extended the trafficking period from 20 days to three months.

Phone intercepts revealed in a span of 20 days, between June 10-30 2022, Nolan agreed to supply meth on 19 occasions, and during that time she supplied a total of about 10.8g of the drug to different people.

Rockhampton Court House.

The court heard Nolan’s profit from the trafficking would vary from $500 or less in a day up to $1000.

On June 12 while on the phone to an associate Nolan told them she was going to ‘get this c--t tonight, like definitely 100 per cent’ and told the associate they could hold the door while she got the “gear”.

She then claimed she was going to “smash their car up” and that she was $4000 in debt to that person.

The next day while on a call to someone at the Capricornia Correctional Centre, Nolan told an inmate she smashed up a man’s car because he wouldn’t give her his drugs and that she had to “stand over him”.

On April 21, 2022 police searched Nolan’s home and found her phone but she claimed it wasn’t hers, she then told officers she changed the passcode the night before and couldn’t remember it.

She told officers a number of different combinations until the phone disabled for a short time.

On July 1, 2022 police went to Nolan’s home again, but she wasn’t home telling them she was at a tattoo shop.

She was later found by officers where she was carrying $3500, a phone and gold jewellery.

Nolan was then taken home and her home was searched, where police found five clipseal bags with a total of 4.492g of pure meth in 6.4g of substance.

She was then taken to the Rockhampton Watch House and in an interview she told police “I could make money off this stuff, you know what I mean? It was just easy. I was enjoying life, I was getting places because I had extra money”.

Billie-Jo Nolan pleaded guilty in Rockhampton Supreme Court to drug trafficking offences.

Nolan told officers she would ingest meth at least twice a week by eating it and had never been addicted and could “easily give it up”.

Her barrister Julie Marsden told the court Nolan accepted the seriousness of her offending and was “very honest and open” about the extent of her conduct.

Ms Marsden said her client was a mother of two and had the support of her family, and had been drug free since February 2023, tendering 15 clear drug tests to the court.

She said her client was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and, despite having a limited work history, had found work as a cleaner.

Ms Marsden said Nolan began using marijuana at the age of 14 before beginning to use ice at 16.

She said her client made full admissions to police, even telling them of more offences during the offending period.

Ms Marsden asked Justice Graeme Crow to consider a wholly suspended sentence so Nolan could continue her extensive rehabilitation and to acknowledge her co-operation with police.

Justice Graeme Crow told Nolan he would give “special consideration” when deciding her sentence after her admissions to police extended the period of her offending.

He said the sentence he had decided was something that was “rarely done” but felt, after hearing submissions and the material in support of Nolan, supervision was not necessary.

Justice Graeme Crow. Pic Annette Dew

“The seriousness of the offending, generally speaking, as you’ve heard counsel say, those trafficking in dangerous drugs go to prison, it’s an unusual case that they don’t. The community demands that,” he said.

However Justice Crow warned Nolan if she returned to drug offending, the sentences would only get longer.

Nolan was sentenced to five years imprisonment which was immediately suspended for an operational period of five years.

“It’s not something that’s commonly done, it’s rarely done, but the features that are mentioned in your favour show me that, indeed in your case, I don’t think you need supervision,” Justice Crow said.