Townsville man Andrew William Taylor sentenced over 392g meth haul

A Townsville meth dealer caught with up to $700,000 worth of the drug as he travelled between Brisbane and North Queensland, has paid a hefty price.

A Townsville drug dealer caught with up to $700,000 worth of methamphetamine during the pandemic has been jailed for nine years.

A court previously heard Andrew William Taylor, 32, was smoking up to 0.5g of meth per day in May 2020 at the height of the Covid pandemic when he was given an opportunity to buy a large quantity of high quality meth for $200,000.

Crown prosecutor Joshua Francis said Taylor hired a Mitsubishi under his mother’s name and was the passenger while his co-accused drove the vehicle to Brisbane and back.

They were the subject of days of surveillance by Townsville’s Major Organised Crime Squad, who swooped on the car at the Burdekin Bridge in Home Hill on May 4, 2020.

During their search, officers found $2380 in cash on Taylor and behind a plastic panel on the dashboard, they discovered a cryovac bag with Taylors fingerprints on it, containing 382g of high purity meth, along with three mobile phones and $75 cash.

Andrew William Taylor pleaded guilty to one count of possessing methamphetamine in an aggravated quantity. Picture: Supplied.

The street value for the drugs was estimated to be worth between $500,000 and $700,000.

A subsequent search of his house uncovered $2005 in cash, two sets of digital scales with crystal remnants, $600 in casino chips, and a fourth mobile phone.

Mr Francis said the significant quantity of the drugs “bespeaks a commercial purpose”.

Taylor was taken into custody, and successfully challenged the legality of the search in a court battle before the outcome was eventually overturned on appeal.

He appeared in the Townsville Supreme Court on Wednesday, pleading guilty to one count of possessing methamphetamine in an aggravated quantity (greater than 200g).

Mr Francis said Taylor’s lengthy criminal history, including a previous five year prison sentence in the Supreme Court for trafficking, showed he was “undeterred and unrehabilitated by his time in jail”.

Defence barrister Clare Grant said Taylor’s criminal history was “unenviable”, but needed to be viewed in the context of his life.

Andrew William Taylor pleaded guilty to one count of possessing methamphetamine in an aggravated quantity. Picture: Supplied.

She said during Taylor’s first time behind bars as a teenager, he suffered “institutional abuse” which “had a lasting effect on the adult choices that he made after being released from custody at that time”, for which he was receiving counselling.

With his “considerable” methylamphetamine habit, combined with a downturn in his relationship, she said “the temptation got the better of him”.

He was spending his time in custody productively, gaining qualifications in engineering and boiler making, showing that he was capable of rehabilitation and able to support his return to the community.

Justice David North there was a need for a tough sentence to be imposed to reflect the seriousness of the crime.

“Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug, it causes a lot of harm in the community. It’s associated with a lot of crime, crimes of violence property crime, anecdotally with a lot of domestic violence,” Judge North said.

Andrew William Taylor was busted with 392g of methamphetamine. Picture: Supplied.

“Because of that, and the serious effects it can have on the health of long term users, parliament has imposed significant penalties for that offending.”

He noted the 877 days Taylor had already served in pre-sentence custody where he experienced lengthy lockdowns because of Covid and saw little of his children.

“Whilst one can be sympathetic to you for that it should not be overlooked, that this is a circumstance of your own making,” Mr North said.

He was “guarded” about the prospects of Taylor’s rehabilitation, saying it was not a distinct likelihood.

Allowing for time served, he sentenced Taylor to nine years and six months imprisonment. He will be eligible for parole on July 3, 2023.

Originally published as Townsville man Andrew William Taylor sentenced over 392g meth haul