Troy King: Meth-addicted ice dealer jailed for drug trafficking

An Ipswich man has been jailed for trafficking in multiple drugs, bragging to friends on social media about how much product he was moving.

A young Ipswich meth-addict was dealing up to 7g of ice per day, buying an ounce of drug for $3300 on at least one occasion, while using it himself, a court has heard.

Ebbw Vale man Troy Graham King, 29, a former resident of Mountain Creek on the Sunshine Coast, pleaded guilty in Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday to five drug-related offences, which included trafficking in ice, possessing a commercial quantity of ice and a smaller amount of another drug, and possessing cash and a mobile phone.

The court heard King trafficked over a period of 76 days between May 4 and July 18, 2019.

He trafficked predominantly in meth, the court heard, but also in MDMA and cannabis.

King had about 30 customers and bragged on social media he was dealing up to 7g of ice per day, in amounts up to 3.5g at a time, Crown prosecutor Carla Ahern said.

A search warrant on King’s former Mountain Creek residence on July 17 last year uncovered a large amount of ice and cash.

Ebbw Vale man Troy Graham King, 29. Picture: Facebook

It also uncovered a glass pipe and flick knife, resulting in charges which were dealt with in the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on November 20 last year.

King has been in custody since May 26 last year.

He has spent the intervening period, a total of 358 days, remanded in pre-sentence custody.

Defence counsel Gavin Webber told the court his client wasn’t actually dealing 7g of ice per day but “talked a big game”.

He noted his client’s drug-dealing operation had a mixed commercial-personal purpose and stemmed from a prejudicial upbringing where he was “exposed to drugs from a young age”.

Mr Webber told the court his client went “off the rails”, dropping out of school and using cannabis and amphetamines, after the death of his stepfather in 2008, with whom he was close with.

Justice Thomas Bradley sentenced King to four years’ imprisonment on the count of trafficking, to be suspended for a period of three years after serving 12 months, which will occur next week.

On the count of possessing a commercial quantity of ice, he sentenced King to three years’ imprisonment, with immediate court-ordered parole.

King still has matters to be dealt with in the Magistrates Court, the court heard.