Jamie John Abbas fronts court after alleged Leyburn drug bust, 50+ charges to move to higher court

A magistrate has dubbed a former promising Warwick athlete’s charges ‘the least of his worries’ after he was allegedly busted with amphetamine down his pants.

A former Warwick athlete, who spiralled into a life of crime after getting involved with drugs, returned to court this week on new offences allegedly committed while on bail.

Jamie John Abbas appeared in Warwick Magistrates Court via videolink from Brisbane Correctional Centre on January 24 where he pleaded guilty to one charge each of driving uninsured, unregistered and while disqualified.

The charges relate to an event in October of last year when Abbas and a number of other men were busted by police on Donovan’s Rd at Leyburn.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Steve de Lissa told the court how in the morning of October 12, police located Abbas in a vehicle after expired registration plates were noticed by police.

Jamie John Abbas faced court again on Wednesday, January 24, on traffic offences.

Abbas was on bail to reside at an address in NSW at the time of the offence, and told police at the scene he had gotten the vehicle the day before.

Police further allege that Abbas was detained by police and searched, during which police allegedly located 36g of amphetamine hidden in his underwear.

Mr Abbas is yet to enter a plea on alleged drug matters, nor any alleged offences committed in 2022.

The man’s defence lawyer Clare Hine told the court the man had a lot of promise before being involved in drugs, coming from a loving family and was a “very talented” football player attracting attention from NRL clubs and even playing in America.

However, drugs entered his life and he began to spiral after the breakdown of a relationship.

Jaime Abbas had a promising football career and was spotted by multiple NRL clubs.

Ms Hine told the court Abbas was currently in custody for “very serious drug offending” with more than 50 charges before the District Court, including break and enter and trafficking, with the lawyer hoping they were able to progress to a higher court.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess understood the offending was minor compared to the stack of alleged offences before the 28-year-old, saying that the traffic matters “are the least of his worries”.

“You have a lot of other problems, and have been sentenced before in this court,” Ms Sturgess said.

“It’s so sad to hear your background story, you had a good education and a lot of promise and family support, but descending into drugs has been a very, very significant change in your life.

“It’s very sad as someone who had so much potential has lost it.”

Abbas was convicted and not further punished on the traffic offences, and was suspended from driving for two years.

The man will appear in court again on March 13, where it is expected his charges will be moved to the Supreme Court.