Darryn John Webber in Rockhampton court for trafficking meth, cocaine

A Queensland father operating a wholesale cocaine and meth trafficking business spoke about pooling $100,000 to source drugs while using encrypted tech to communicate with associates. See how he was busted.

Darryn John Webber.

A Rockhampton father will spend the next two Christmases behind bars for trafficking methamphetamine and cocaine.

The Rockhampton Supreme Court heard on December 20 that Darryn John Webber, 42, had been operating a wholesale level drug trafficking business with an associate.

Webber trafficked meth and cocaine for 11 days between April 14 and April 25, 2021.

During that 11-day period, Crown prosecutor Cameron Keast said Webber and his associate sourced ounces of meth and that the associate had five customers.

“The pair spoke about pooling $100,000 to source drugs and they arranged a supply of 10 ounces of methamphetamine,” he said.

“They also conducted a drug run.”

Darryn John Webber.

The court heard the drug trafficking operation was sophisticated, with encrypted applications, such as Wickr, being used to communicate with associates.

Mr Kest said while the business was operated together, Webber’s associate was the boss.

He said the drug trafficking was revealed after an analysis of Webber’s phone following a search warrant at Quest Rockhampton on Victoria Parade on April 25, 2021.

He said during the search police found a total of 7.811g of pure meth, 1.3g of pure cocaine and 204g of marijuana.

The court heard the drugs were possessed for a commercial purpose.

Defence barrister Scott Moon said his client was a drug user.

Mr Moon said his client started using marijuana at 35 years old and then meth and cocaine following the breakdown of his marriage in 2017.

He said his client, who had a three-page criminal record, hadn’t committed any further drug offences since March 2022.

The court heard Webber was a father and self-employed, working casually as a welder.

Webber pleaded guilty to possessing a dangerous drug in excess of 2g, two counts of possessing dangerous drugs, and one count of trafficking dangerous drugs and possessing anything used in the commission of a crime defined in Part 2.

Justice Crow sentenced Webber to 4.5 years prison, with parole eligibility on December 29, 2024 and declared 51 days of pre-sentence custody as time already served.