Former child safety worker supplied meth to her cousin and was busted during a police operation in Longreach area

A former child safety worker who relinquished care of her kids to their father, picking her boyfriend over her kids, has been busted supplying drugs during a major police operation.

A former child safety worker who relinquished the care of her own children to their father, picking her new boyfriend over them, has been busted supplying drugs during a major police operation.

The woman, 34, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty in Rockhampton District Court on November 12 to two counts of supplying illegal drugs.

Crown prosecutor Bianca Volling said the woman’s offending was detected via telephone intercepts during a major police operation targeting drug supplies in the Longreach area.

She said one of the people the woman communicated with about the drug supplies was a target of the operation.

The court heard the woman facilitated two supplies of methamphetamines – one each on October 25 and 26, 2020.

The quantity of the first supply is unknown and the second supply was 1.5g.

Ms Volling said a Longreach Magistrates Court sentence on November 24, 2020, post-dated this offence but it was relevant as the items found in a search of the woman’s residence were drug utensils along with 2.1g of marijuana and 3.2g of meth.

She said the woman admitted to possessing the marijuana but not the meth.

Ms Volling said the woman was placed on a 12-month probation order for which she failed to report eight times and only attended rehabilitation service Lives Lived Well once leading to the probation authorities proceeding to have her breached and re-sentenced by the court.

Defence barrister Scott Moon said his client had been introduced to drugs by a now former partner in 2016.

He said the woman’s relationship with her parents had soured over this relationship and she had relinquished her two children, aged 10 and 13, into the care of their biological father instead of ending the relationship.

Mr Moon said his client had now ended that relationship and started working full-time at a shearing shed in the Winton area.

He said her work history included working at Child Safety for four years, two years at Centrelink and nine years running her own business.

Mr Moon said the woman closed her business down in 2019 due to drought and financial issues.

He said the woman’s drug use increased after her cousin died in a car accident three years ago.

Mr Moon said this offending was her supplying to another cousin.

He said her goal was to get her children back and continue working.

Judge Jeff Clarke ordered the woman pay $2000 in fines and convictions were recorded.