Leanna Olivero, Dylan Thurnwald: Duo guilty of serious drug crimes

A young Sunshine Coast duo, formerly in a relationship, have been convicted of a massive drug operation after suspect mail led police to their door.

A young Sunshine Coast woman has again been convicted of drug trafficking after the seizure of mail brimming with psychedelic drugs led police to the narcotics operation she shared with her now ex-boyfriend.

Sunrise Beach woman Leanna Eve Olivero, 24, pleaded guilty in Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday to 11 drug-related counts, including trafficking, while her ex-partner Dylan Nathaniel Thomas Thurnwald, 26, of Coolum Beach, pleaded guilty to three lesser charges and was sentenced on May 19 this year.

The court heard Olivero, in concert with Thurnwald, trafficked in MDMA, hallucinogenic drug 2C-B, and designer drug flualprazolam for a five-month period between August 2018 and their arrest on January 22, 2019 at their former Maroochydore residence.

Sunrise Beach drug trafficker Leanna Eve Olivero, 24. Picture: Facebook

Police twigged onto the pair's activities when Border Force intercepted two envelopes, one containing 10g pure 2C-B in 20.9g of substance, the other containing 12,600 tabs with which to administer the drug.

One envelope was addressed to Olivero's parents' house, while the other was addressed to the Maroochydore address under a false name, the court heard.

The January 22, 2019 search uncovered a trove of illicit substances, the court heard: there were 294 capsules of flualprazolam; 13.9g of MDMA with a purity of more than 70 per cent; 1g pure of 2C-B; a small amount of cannabis; digital scales, mobile phones and clipseal bags; and a series of fake labels in which the trafficking operation was disguised as a legitimate vape business.

Analysis of the mobile phones uncovered the trafficking operation, but the "extent of the business is not entirely known", the court heard.

Coolum Beach man Dylan Nathaniel Thomas Thurnwald, 26. Picture: Facebook

Unexplained cash totally $4600 was uncovered in accounts belonging to Olivero, which was accepted to be drug money as she was subsisting on the Newstart allowance at the time.

In a police interview, Olivero, a long-term cannabis and psychedelic user, denied knowledge of the trafficking operation.

She has been in custody since her arrest, a period of 28 months.

The court heard Olivero and Thurnwald had a torrid history together: in 2015, they were both convicted of a large cannabis trafficking operation, and returned to the Noosa Magistrates Court in October 2016 for further drug offending.

Olivero was further before the Maroochydore Magistrates Court in June 2017 for more drug offending, and was resentenced in the Maroochydore District Court in August 2017 for breaching previous orders.

Her current offending was in breach of parole and a suspended sentence.

Defence counsel Catherine Cuthbert told the court her client wanted to "take responsibility" for her offending, contrasting it with the approach of Thurnwald, who attempted to fix Olivero as the driving force behind the operation.

She said Olivero was "pleased" she wasn't granted bail for the current trafficking as her time remanded in pre-sentence custody allowed her to "address her issues".

The court heard she had obtained a Certificate III in hairdressing while incarcerated, a career she wished to pursue on the outside.

Justice Soraya Ryan commended Olivero's efforts and rehabilitation and sentenced her to three years' imprisonment with immediate parole, allowing her release today.

Thurnwald was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment.

Originally published as Convicted traffickers get back in the game with MDMA, hallucinogenic operation