Warwick woman Sandra Helene Spijkers refused bail on charges including possessing 20g of pure methamphetamine

A 43-year-old Warwick woman had spent seven months in custody but the judge found she was an “unacceptable risk” and she was refused bail after police allegedly found a large quantity of drugs.

A Warwick woman allegedly found in possession of 20g of pure meth has failed in her bid to be released from custody.

Sandra Helene Spijkers spent seven months in custody after her arrest, which came after police allegedly found 20g of meth following a search of the car she was in, Toowoomba Magistrates Court was told.

The 43-year-old was not required to be in court on Monday when her solicitor Chelsea Saldumbide, of McConnell and Saldumbide Lawyers, applied for bail on her behalf.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Kinsley Weir said police objected to bail and provided a written statement to that regard to the court.

The court was told Ms Spijkers was on parole having been sentenced by the Toowoomba District Court in November 2022 to a three-year jail term after she pleaded guilty to having 11.3g of pure meth and $11,500 cash found by a police search of the car she was driving on December 18, 2020.

The woman’s bail application was heard in Toowoomba Magistrates Court.

Justice David Boddice released Ms Spijkers on immediate parole after taking into account she had spent 592 days in pre-sentence custody.

In regard to the recent matters, Ms Saldumbide submitted the alleged drugs on this occasion had been found in a hire car in which her client was sitting but she insisted she had no knowledge of the drugs.

A co-accused had admitted to the possession of the drugs but the police had not accepted that evidence to the point of dropping the charges against Ms Spijkers, she said.

Ms Spijkers has not as yet been required to enter any pleas to the charges which include possessing a dangerous drug exceeding schedule 3, possessing property relating to drug trafficking, possessing drug related utensils and obstructing police.

If granted bail, Ms Spijkers would live in the Warwick area with her parents who were keen to have her home, Ms Saldumbide said.

Even if granted bail, her client would be at the mercy of the parole board to be released as her full-time release date on her three-year term was March 30, 2024, she said.

However, magistrate Clare Kelly said she was not satisfied she could impose bail conditions stringent enough to ameliorate the risk of Ms Spijkers committing further offences and refused bail.

Ms Spijkers was remanded in custody with her matters adjourned for mention back in the same court on February 7, 2024.

Originally published as Warwick woman Sandra Helene Spijkers refused bail on charges including possessing 20g of pure methamphetamine