Cocaine dealer hairdresser gets green light for Bali trip

THE Ballina woman told the court the trip was for "work commitments" and needed a variation to her bail conditions.

Jarrah Kay Hustler, of Cumbalum, has faced court over drug supply and possession charges. Picture: Facebook

A WOMAN who has pleaded guilty to drug supply has asked for leave to travel to Bali.

Jarrah Kay Hustler, 30, has previously pleaded guilty to her charges of supplying and possessing a prohibited drug after she was found with a large amount of cocaine in Brunswick Heads.

According to court documents, Highway Patrol officers had stopped the Cumbalum woman at an RBT station about 6pm on December 28 last year when she was "showing signs of nervousness", which led to them searching her car and her person.

Police found multiple bags containing a total of 38 grams of cocaine.

When Hustler appeared before Byron Bay Local Court on Thursday, her solicitor John Weller made an application to vary her bail conditions.

Her conditions had barred her from entering the Byron Bay CBD - where Hustler told police she bought the drugs - and required her to report to police weekly.

But Mr Weller asked Magistrate Geoff Dunlevy to remove the CBD ban and to suspend her reporting so the hairdressing salon owner could travel to Bali for two weeks of "work commitments".

He told the court the Bali trip had been booked prior to charges being laid against Hustler.

"It was planned and it was booked and paid for and a series of work commitments were booked," he said.

Mr Weller said his client was pursuing help for alcohol and drug issued along with mental health treatment.

"She's aware of the seriousness of the charges and she's addressing those," he said.

Prosecutor Sgt Val Short opposed the application, saying the planned Bali trip was "a concern" even though it was booked prior to her charges.

She questioned whether it was wise to allow Hustler, who told police she had been using "three to five grams (of cocaine) a day", to travel to Indonesia.

"She's then going to be away from (support services) for two weeks in a country that is fairly well known for the availability (of drugs)," she said.

Mr Dunlevy said Indonesia's tough drug laws should act as a deterrent.

"One of the reasons it's well known is because possessing prohibited drugs in Indonesia carries the death penalty," Mr Dunlevy said.

Sgt Short also opposed any changes to Hustler's ban from entering Byron's CBD, saying the police "work hard to try to keep Byron Bay a drug-free environment".

Mr Dunlevy acknowledged concerns there was a "risk she might abscond to another jurisdiction", but said Hustler appeared to be "well-settled in the local community" and was "not a person of overly substantial means" who could flee overseas indefinitely without income.

He reduced the ban from Byron Bay, to allow Hustler to visit the CBD between 8am and 6pm and suspended her reporting requirements, so she can travel to Bali.

The matter will return to court on April 4.