Man faces court after allegedly manufacturing drugs and trafficking mass amounts of synthetic MDMA
A Hobart man has faced court charged with trafficking a potentially dangerous synthetic drug, often known as “bath salts” or “flakka”. It comes after Tasmania Police said it seized 11,000 MDMA pills, worth $400,000, in a pre-Christmas raid.
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A HOBART man has faced court charged with trafficking the rare and potentially dangerous synthetic drug dimethylpentylone, often known by the street names of “bath salts” or “flakka”.
It’s possibly the first time someone in Tasmania has been charged with trafficking dimethylpentylone, the drug only reaching Australian shores in recent years after similar substances made headlines last decade.
Benjamin Angus Shield, 47, was expected to enter a plea in the Hobart Magistrates Court on Friday to a host of drug-related charges including trafficking and manufacturing a controlled drug for sale.
But his lawyer explained to Magistrate Reg Marron she had only been able to speak to Mr Shield, who is currently in custody, for 20 minutes due to limitations at the prison connected to the Christmas holiday period.
Mr Marron adjourned the case until January 19, but said he expected pleas “to be entered on everything” on that occasion.
Tasmania Police previously said Mr Shield had been arrested after they made a “significant” pre-Christmas seizure on December 22 last year.
At the time, police said they had seized more than 11,000 MDMA pills, with a street value of about $400,000, from a Sandy Bay raid.
Police released images from the alleged drug haul, depicting what appeared to be thousands of brightly-coloured pills in plastic bags.
It is understood tablets containing dimethylpentylone have been sold as MDMA and circulated on mainland Australia in recent years.
Dimethylpentylone can reportedly give a similar high to MDMA, but can also make users agitated and unable to sleep with a fastened heart rate, and can even cause insomnia-induced psychosis.
It’s also often referred to as a synthetic MDMA, and is a newer addition to a large class of drugs called synthetic cathinones, which first popped up in the Australian market during the 2000s.
When Mr Shield returns to court later this month, he will be expected to enter pleas to some 19 charges, ranging in dates from September to December last year.
According to court documents, these include drug trafficking and manufacturing, possessing cannabis, possessing 101 glass ice pipes, breaching bail, destroying property, possessing an item intended for use in the manufacture of drugs, possessing a folding knife and a switch blade knife, and evading police in aggravated circumstances.
Originally published as Man faces court after allegedly manufacturing drugs and trafficking mass amounts of synthetic MDMA
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