John Charles White in court over possession of dangerous drugs
A Gold Coast pilot previously sentenced for drug trafficking with his aeroplane for bikie gangs, has faced a Logan court after he was found again with almost 5kg of cannabis.
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An elderly Gold Coast man previously sentenced for drug trafficking with his aeroplane for bikie gangs has faced a Logan court after being found with almost 5kg of cannabis.
John Charles White, 75, pleaded guilty in Beenleigh District Court on February 28 to possessing dangerous drugs and possessing over 500g of a dangerous drug.
The court heard that on May 23, 2022 Police were conducting surveillance on a property in Norwell and located a cannabis hydroponic set-up.
From this information, they executed a search warrant at White’s warehouse in Stapylton on May 25, 2022 and found 4.8kg of cannabis.
They also found cannabis oil at his home in Coomera, which he said were for personal use.
The court heard White was holding the cannabis for others and knew it was for commercial use but might not have gained financially himself from it.
White had a history of drug trafficking in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia had a current warrant for his arrest.
In 2015 he was arrested by Police as part of a major drug sting which uncovered 45kg of cannabis and 4kg of a precursor drug to ice.
White has a background in aviation and used an aeroplane to traffic the drug for organised bikie gangs across the three states.
In 2019 he was sentenced in Sydney District Court to 22 months in prison, to be served on probation.
Beenleigh District Court heard White had serious health issues and used a dialysis machine daily.
He also used cannabis regularly to assist him with sleep.
Judge Rowan Jackson KC said the offending was serious and was compounded by White’s criminal history.
“You have a criminal history in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia, these offences are serious,” he said.
White was sentenced to 12 months prison, wholly suspended.
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