Bradley Ernest Hardy pleads guilty to meth bust at Ilkley
More than $18,000 in tainted cash and a large amount of ice have been uncovered at the home of a Sunshine Coast grandfather.
Police & Courts
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A court has heard how a grandfather was found with dirty cash and a large amount of meth during a targeted raid in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.
The Brisbane Supreme Court was told earlier this month how Bradley Ernest Hardy was caught up in a wider police investigation, which led to a search warrant at a bush property in Ilkley on July 20, 2022.
In sentencing remarks published this week, Justice Frances Williams said the 54-year-old man lived at the property in a donga, also known as a demountable, when it was scoured by detectives.
Court documents state in Hardy’s residence police found 18g of a white crystal substance which contained 13g of pure meth. A wallet with $1035 cash, a glass pipe and a used needle was also found.
In a development during the raid, officers found a further $18,050 in cash secreted in a magnetic box underneath the donga.
Hardy was arrested and released on bail, charged with possessing a dangerous drug in excess of two grams, possessing property suspected of being the proceeds of an offence, possessing utensils and failing to properly dispose of a needle or syringe. He later pleaded guilty.
Justice Williams said Hardy was being sentenced on the basis the drugs and cash were for a “mixed purpose”.
The court heard Hardy was not a stranger to narcotics, having been sentenced almost a dozen times in the past for possessing drugs.
Court reports tendered during his sentencing revealed Hardy was addicted to meth however in recent times embraced rehabilitation for his substance issues and mental health. The court heard he was committed to changing his lifestyle and avoiding offending.
A reference from Hardy’s sister, read by Justice Williams, spoke about how she thought her brother had learnt a “great lesson” from what happened and hoped he would “avoid making such stupid mistakes again”.
Hardy was jailed for two and a half years but was granted immediate parole as of March 13.
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