Former trafficker Hayley Anne Holt provided 97 drug strips in Capricornia jail

A not so non-contact visit to a regional prison has left one former drug trafficker and drug producer in hot water for smuggling an illicit substance to her jailhouse lover.

Hayley Anne Holt appeared in Rockhampton District Court on November 18, 2022. Picture: Facebook

A not so non-contact visit to a regional prison has left one former drug trafficker and drug producer in hot water for smuggling an illicit substance to her jailhouse lover.

Hayley Anne Holt, 43, was sentenced in Rockhampton District Court on November 25 after pleading guilty on November 18 to one count of aggravated supply of dangerous drugs within a correctional facility.

Holt visited her partner Jason Neil Graham at Capricornia Correctional Centre on January 8, 2021.

Crown prosecutor Caleb Theunissen said it was a scheduled “non-contact” visit but CCTV captured Graham ‘hug’ Holt and the pair were separated.

“Graham put his hands down the shirt of the defendant and touched her chest area as if he had grabbed something,” Mr Theunissen said.

“He then moved his hands back and was observed fiddling around with his pants.

“At one point, he crouched over and then attempted to obstruct the view of the cameras.

“He put his whole right hand into his pants.”

Later, when Graham was in the exercise yard, he was searched again and found in possession of 97 strips of suboxone in his underwear.

“There were several phone calls recorded between the defendant and Graham.”

Mr Theunissen said that during a call on December 28, 2020, Holt told Graham she had repackaged the suboxone into lots of 20.

He said the next day, she confirmed with Graham she had “138 eights and 27 twos”.

“Graham told her to keep eight and at the end of the call, informed her that he will call her back with further instructions,” Mr Theunissen said.

He said there was another call on that day where they both discussed providing suboxone to two other people.

Mr Theunissen said the couple discussed the drug supply further a few days before the visit.

“The defendant confirmed with Graham that she was coming out for a contact visit so quote: ‘then I can touch ya’,” he said.

“Graham also urged the importance of the defendant that he needed ‘it’ before next week.”

Mr Theunissen said Holt’s two-page criminal record included 13 drug offences, commencing with trafficking methamphetamines and marijuana when she was aged 31-33, with 16 customers and a profit of $5,000.

He said it also included a conviction for producing meth.

“She was a drug user at the time,” Mr Theunissen said.

Holt was sentenced to four years prison with parole eligibility after one year for the trafficking and producing offences in 2013.

“All offences since that time have been relatively minor,” Mr Theunissen said.

Defence barrister Jordan Ahlstrand said the mother of six had an excellent employment record before being charged over the trafficking offences 10 years ago.

He said Holt had the “unwavering support” of her mother who described the relationship between Holt and Graham as “imbalanced”.

Judge Jeff Clarke sentenced Holt to 15 months prison, declared four days presentence custody and set parole release for February 20, 2023.