Tye Burns: Burpengary earthmover guilty of aggravated meth bust

A Moreton Bay business owner with a drug problem stretching back a decade has found himself back before the Supreme Court.

The Moreton Bay owner of an earthmoving business found himself back in the cold arms of methamphetamine over access to his children, a court has heard.

Burpengary man Tye Thomas Burns, 34, owner of Austar Earthmoving, pleaded guilty in Brisbane Supreme Court on Tuesday to three drug offences.

They included possessing an aggravated quantity of methamphetamine, possessing a smaller amount of MDMA, and possessing digital scales and clipseal bags.

The court heard all offences were detected by police following a traffic stop at Lawnton on August 5 last year.

Burns was discovered in possession of two clipseal bags of meth with a total pure weight of 7.8g, a smaller quantity of MDMA, and digital scales and clipseal bags.

Burns told police the drugs were for his own personal use but that he was giving the larger of the two bags of meth to a friend.

The Crown accepted there was no commercial aspect to his possession.

The court heard Burns had a criminal history of some relevance.

The Supreme Court placed him on two years’ probation and ordered he perform 100 hours’ community service for supplying Schedule 1 dangerous drugs to friends of his.

Meanwhile, Burns has two previous convictions for drug driving.

Burpengary man Tye Thomas Burns, 34. Picture: Facebook

Defence counsel Scott Lynch told the court his client relapsed into meth abuse following the breakdown of his relationship with the mother of his two children, who are aged 15 and 12.

The messy break-up meant he was unable to see his children for a time and this caused him to become “distressed” and self-medicate with the highly addictive drug.

The court heard Burns had mortgage obligations and enjoyed the support of his parents.

Justice Thomas Bradley said Burns’ character references showed he was a “good” person.

He told Burns next time he felt stressed and like smoking meth, he should instead call a loved one and have a cup of tea.

Burns was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment with immediate release on parole.