Trio jailed over Kinder Surprise plot to smuggle drugs into festival

A court has thrown the book at three festival drug dealers, sentencing each to more than two years in jail for a “Kinder Surprise” plot to smuggle MDMA past police sniffer dogs.

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A court has thrown the book at three festival drug dealers, sentencing each to more than two years in jail for a “Kinder Surprise” plot to smuggle MDMA past police sniffer dogs.

Judge Siobhan Herbert handed down the no-nonsense ruling in Parramatta District Court this month after the three men pleaded guilty to trying to get 270 capsules of the drug into Sydney Olympic Park’s Knockout Circuz in 2016 — 19-year-old Callum Brosnan died at the 2018 instalment of the same event, Knockout Games of Destiny.

Jailed: Trent Keogh

Sant Salas. Picture: Nick Hansen

Sant Salas, 25, and Matthew Sultana, 24, were each sentenced to two years and seven months jail and a non-parole period of 20 months. Trent Levi Keogh, 26, got two years and three months jail, with 17 months non-parole.

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The sentences were a sign judges and magistrates were fed up with dealers after five young revellers died at NSW dance festivals in the past six months, victims of crime advocate Howard Brown said.

“Judges are sick and tired of dealers and they’re sending a clear message, no more slap on the wrist, you’re going to jail and you’re going to do some hard time,” Mr Howard said.

Matthew Sultana, left, and Trent Keogh were both jailed.

Keogh used Instagram to recruit two women to use containers found inside Kinder Surprise chocolates to internally conceal the drugs and try and walk them into Knockout Circuz.

“We’re trying to find someone to take in for us” he wrote to one of the women named as “Miss Martin” in court documents.

“How many,” Miss Martin replied.

“Maybe 150”, Keogh told her.

Miss Martin asked: “Are they small or big caps”. Keogh replied: “Small as”.

The pair haggled over the cost of the service, before Keogh agreed to pay the woman and her friend “Miss Robinson” $150 and eight of the MDMA caps.

Keogh drove to a Baulkham Hills property and picked the women up on the afternoon of the festival, pulling into the Kellyville 7 Eleven shortly after.

Trent Keogh used Instagram to recruit two women.

Keogh will be eligible for parole in July 2020.

“We need to stop here and get the Kinder Surprise … That’s what we’re going to put the drugs in,” he told them.

Sultana and Salas gave the drugs to the women, who secreted them internally.

The plan unravelled when police detected the drugs at the gate and a strand of Keogh’s hair was found in one of the containers.

Mr Brown said courts should also be doing more to publicise strong sentences to ensure the “community deterrence” is felt by potential dealers and other offenders.

“If you’re going to use general deterrence to say this is no longer acceptable, then people need to know about this,” he said.

Each of the men pleaded guilty to supply charges and Judge Herbert also took into account further charges of participating in a criminal group.

Keogh will be eligible for parole in July 2020, the other two men will be eligible in October 2020.