Ethan Elliott pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine near East Ballina hotel

A man’s day at the races ended inside a police station after being caught with four bags of cocaine. The man, who avoided a criminal conviction, told officers the drugs had been planted.

Ethan James Elliott outside Ballina Local Court.

A man busted with four bags of cocaine outside an East Ballina hotel claimed to police that some of the illegal stash had been planted.

Ethan James Elliott, 22, of East Lismore pleaded guilty at Ballina Local Court on Thursday to drug possession.

Police officers attended Shaws Bay Hotel at East Ballina with a drug detection dog and saw three men, including Elliott, get out of a Mazda station wagon and approach the hotel but turn back around when they saw police about 8pm Boxing Day, police facts state.

Later that night police saw the men again standing around the car. When they were about to hop into the car officers came up and asked if they had anything illegal on them, court documents state.

Elliott “freely admitted” he was in the possession of cocaine and removed two small bags of white powder from his pocket.

Ballina Local Court. Picture: Savannah Pocock.

“Yeah they’re mine, it’s for personal use,” he said.

When police searched Elliott they found another two bags of cocaine, bringing the total to 2.59g of the drug. Police also found $535 cash in his wallet, police documents state.

Elliott denied any knowledge of the cocaine in his wallet and claimed someone must have put them in his wallet. He told police he bought the cocaine from someone at the races for $600, court documents state.

Elliott was arrested and taken to Ballina police station where he told police he consumed the drug earlier in the evening and admitted to being a regular cocaine user.

Magistrate Karen Stafford sentenced Elliott to a 12-month conditional release order without conviction.