Yeppoon woman Tricia Ann Jeffreys busted hiding large amount of marijuana under internal stairs

Police attended a Yeppoon street in relation to another incident when they came across the woman’s stash. Here’s what they found and what happened to the woman in court.

A Yeppoon woman was busted hiding cannabis under a set of internal stairs at her residence. Generic image.

A Yeppoon woman caught hiding a large amount of marijuana under a set of internal stairs at her residence, has faced court.

Tricia Ann Jeffreys, 28, pleaded guilty in Yeppoon Magistrates Court on March 3 to possessing the drug.

The court heard that on February 15, at 2.30am, police were at Pine Mountain Drive, Yeppoon, in relation to another incident that did not directly involve Jeffreys.

During a search of Jeffreys’ residence, officers found a plastic tub with 166.1g of marijuana in it.

That tub was under a set of internal stairs.

Police also found, in a bedside drawer of Jeffreys’ bedroom, 5.2g of marijuana seeds in a clip-seal bag.

Jeffreys told police the marijuana belonged to her and that she had found a single marijuana plant growing and that was where it had come from.

The prosecution accepted that the marijuana was for personal use only.

The court heard that Jeffreys had no criminal history.

Solicitor Ashley Reynolds said it was the first time that Jeffreys had attended court and she was very nervous about it.

“Your Honour can see that it is a large amount of marijuana,” Ms Reynolds said.

“It was the one plant that she found and she had it in a tub.

“She previously had been smoking cannabis to self-medicate in relation to her anxiety, however she has since then refrained from doing that and has gone to see her GP.”

Ms Reynolds said Jeffreys had since moved out of the Yeppoon residence where this offence occurred.

“On her instructions, she has been clean (from drugs) for about three months now,” Ms Reynolds said.

Magistrate Cameron Press noted it was a significant amount of marijuana Jeffreys had and he placed her on probation for nine months with conditions.

No conviction was recorded.