Warwick drug traffickers selling meth, weed, and more - full list
From a Warwick father busted trafficking meth while on parole to a man caught selling drugs to undercover cops, the region’s newly-convicted drug traffickers and their crimes can now be exposed. Full list.
Police & Courts
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A Warwick father busted trafficking meth while on parole for the exact same offences to a mother-of-seven caught selling meth and marijuana to almost 70 customers, several Warwick residents have been sentenced for serious drug offending recently.
Data from the Queensland Police Service has revealed drug offences have accounted for almost 17 per cent of all crime in Warwick within the past 12 months, with 233 drug-related crimes reported within that period.
March and August last year represented the most notable spikes in drug offences with 44 and 33 respectively.
The data has also revealed the Warwick streets that have become hotspots for drug-related crime within the past year.
Wood St topped the rankings with 31 drug offences recorded within the past year, followed by Fitzroy St and Pratten St with 17 and 13 respectively.
Myrtle Ave ranked next with 11 drug-related crimes, then Grafton St with nine and both Wallace and Victoria Sts with seven within the past 12 months.
Other popular spots for drug offences were Percy St, George St, and Wantley St with five each.
While charges such as drug or utensil possession and drug driving are typically dealt with in the lower courts, drug trafficking is considered one of the most serious substance-related offences and usually attracts a severe penalty in a higher court.
Residents can be sentenced between 10 years and life behind bars for drug trafficking under the Commonwealth Criminal Code.
Several members of the wider Warwick community have been convicted of drug trafficking in courts across the region within the past two years, with many forced to spend months behind bars as a consequence.
See the full list of names below:
Jake William Dwan
Man jailed for peddling meth while on parole for drug trafficking
Jake William Dwan will spend almost all of 2022 behind bars after he was busted trafficking ice and marijuana while on under a parole order for the same offence.
Toowoomba Supreme Court heard the now-25-year-old sold the drugs for about seven months from June 2019, building up a customer base of 20 people across the Warwick area.
Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald said Dwan raked in near $54,000 through the drug ring and was also collecting Centrelink payments, though conceded feeding his own meth habit also contributed to his offending.
Dwan pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and related drug offences.
He was sentenced to five years’ jail, beginning after he had served the 15 months remaining on his previous sentence, and will be eligible for parole on December 10.
Aiden Lee McKell
Warwick dad caught running $5000-a-day drug ring
Aiden Lee McKell walked free from Warwick District Court after pleading guilty to running a drug trafficking operation that brought in up to $4700 in a single sale.
Police uncovered text messages on the then-28-year-old’s phone between September 23 to November 7, 2020, that revealed he was selling marijuana daily in the Warwick area.
The court was told McKell sold drugs in amounts ranging from 1g to almost half a kilo, and was paid in both cash and online banking by those in his 30-strong customer base.
Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Kelso said the father was so confident in his business that he was prepared to negotiate prices with customers.
McKell pleaded guilty to one count of drug trafficking.
He was sentenced to two and a half years’ jail with immediate release on parole.
Monique Sarah Deighton
Warwick mum jailed for trafficking meth and marijuana
Monique Sarah Deighton was sentenced to five years’ jail after pleading guilty to trafficking meth and marijuana across the Warwick region.
The 38-year-old ran the street-level operation over a seven-month period to a customer base of at least 66 people, and she largely used any profits to fuel her own drug habit.
Crown prosecutor Shontelle Petrie told the Toowoomba Supreme Court that Deighton’s offending was compounded by her continuing to offer drugs while on bail for the trafficking charges.
Deighton served 196 days in pre-sentence custody and will be eligible for parole on May 3, having served a total of 18 months behind bars.
Lukas Royal Ray Buchanan
Warwick dad to spend months behind bars for drug trafficking operation
A former Warwick man who ran an 18-month drug ring that brought in up to $1000 in a single sale will spend at least the next three months behind bars.
Lukas Royal Ray Buchanan’s operation was busted when police raided his home in August 2020, uncovering text messages that showed the now-27-year-old had been trafficking marijuana since February the year prior.
Warwick District Court was told the father actually supplied the drug on at least 180 occasions and offered to sell it 271 times within that period.
Crown prosecutor Bernard Berger said Buchanan had a regular customer base of nearly 70 people and had trafficked at both street and wholesale level, supplying both ounces and pounds of marijuana with a few sales earning up to $1000.
Buchanan pleaded guilty to drug trafficking. He was sentenced to three years’ jail with eligibility for parole on April 30.
Keith John Dyball
Drug trafficker busted after selling ice, illegal weapons to undercover cops
A Goondiwindi man’s four-month drug trafficking operation was busted wide open when he unwittingly sold meth and illegal guns to undercover police officers.
Keith John Dyball sold ice to about 35 different people between August and December 2019, acting as a middleman where he sourced the drugs from a main supplier and sold street-level quantities of about 0.1g.
Toowoomba Supreme Court heard a handful of these customers were drug dealers themselves and would onsell the meth to their own buyers, while others were as young as 16.
Dyball sold a total of 25.3g of ice to the undercover police across four separate occasions, and he also supplied the officers with four illegal weapons including two stolen shortened firearms.
He pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and unlawfully supplying weapons.
Dyball was sentenced to eight years’ jail with parole eligibility on June 7.
Travis Lloyd Laurie
Drug trafficker avoids jail time after “self-rehabilitating”
Travis Lloyd Laurie narrowly dodged time behind bars after pleading guilty to trafficking meth and marijuana.
The then-20-year-old sold the drugs over an 11-day period in January 2017, with police finding messages on his phone relating to the supply of “green” and “salt” or “rock”, referring to marijuana and ice.
Toowoomba Supreme Court heard Laurie sold 1g of meth for $450 and used the money to pay off debts.
Being on bail for the trafficking charge didn’t deter the Warwick man from further offending, as he was nabbed carrying 4g of marijuana when police spoke with him three months later.
Defence barrister David Jones told the court his client had worked to turn his life around since being charged, finding a stable job and establishing a family.
Laurie was sentenced to four years’ jail, wholly suspended for four years, and was placed on probation for three years.
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