Police nab drug dealer Tristan Hornsby Ware with hidden camera
Police may as well have been sitting in the front seat beside Tristan Hornsby Ware when he handed a bag of meth out the window of his ute – so good was their view of the action.
NSW
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Police may as well have been sitting in the front seat beside Tristan Hornsby Ware when he handed a bag of meth out the window of his ute – so good was their view of the action.
An “optical surveillance” device implanted in the cabin ceiling of Ware’s ute was recording a unique bird’s-eye view of the driver’s seat as he went through Drummoyne on June 19, 2019.
“The police were conducting surveillance of the offender, including the use of an optical, listening and surveillance device installed in the offender’s grey Holden Ute,” a statement of agreed facts in Ware’s District Court sentence said.
The camera captured Ware rummaging into a hidden compartment behind him, pulling out a clear bag of methamphetamine, or “ice”.
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He put “two crystals” into a separate resealable bag then, at 1.12pm, reached across to the passenger’s side window and “returns empty-handed”, the facts said.
The camera did not catch anyone taking the drugs but police conducting “physical surveillance” from outside the car saw an unknown man walk to the vehicle and lean in the passenger window.
Moments later Ware knew the game was up when police pulled him over on busy Victoria Road. First he told police where the hidden compartment – stashed with drugs and cash – was located, then directed them how to open it.
Inside the compartment police found 2.67kg of ice, 209 grams of cocaine wrapped in blue Chux cloth, 37 grams of MDMA, testosterone and two other types of steroids along with more than $72,000 cash.
Court documents show Ware has agreed to plead guilty to large commercial drug supply over the ice found in his car and two other counts of supply regarding the MDMA and cocaine.
His case, which is being handled by the Director of Public Prosecutions, has been adjourned to September 17 for sentence.
Ware, who lives in a stunning four-bedroom waterfront home at Daleys Point on the Central Coast, has been on bail since December.
His lawyer David Newham said Ware, a father and family man, was devastated by the charges.
“He’s extremely sorry for what he’s done … he’s a changed man, it’s as simple as that,” Mr Newham said.