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How police busted Rockhampton drug trafficker
Dramatic footage has shown the moment detectives crash tackled a body-building Rockhampton drug trafficker as he attempted to flee the scene of a police raid.
Darren Steven Burnell, 42, was one of two main targets during the 12-month police operation Sierra Decompress, which targeted drug trafficking in the Rockhampton region.
Burnell wasn’t at his home, but he was found at his ex-wife’s residence, where he tried to flee on his motorbike before he was tackled by police officers.
On February 2 police carried out two searches — one at Burnell’s residence and the other at his former wife's house
In a search of his backpack police located:
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$25,500 in cash
One round of ammunition
Two knives
A glass pipe
18.73g of pure meth
Burnell was also found in possession of 134 MDMA tablets. At his house police found 1.379g of meth, multiple mobile phones, four glass pipes and three sets of digital scales.
At Burnell’s trial the court heard his trafficking business ran for 2.5 months with 24 customers identified and evidence of 34 sales supplying 51.85g of drugs and accumulating $22,600 of debts owed by his customers.
Burnell’s defence lawyer told the court the offending was the result of his client and his current partner having issues and both turning to drugs, which snowballed into  trafficking.
Burnell pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including one count of trafficking drugs. He was sentenced to five years prison, to be suspended after serving two.
Words: Andrew PivaProducer: Kerri-Anne Mesner

Original URL: https://www.couriermail.com.au/web-stories/free/the-gladstone-observer/darren-steven-burnell-how-police-took-down-drug-trafficker