Parklea Jail: Roni Taualupe sentenced for smuggling contraband

A western Sydney man smuggled contraband into a western Sydney correctional centre because he feared for his family’s safety.

A former prison guard who pleaded guilty to smuggling illicit substances into a western Sydney jail has avoided jail due to his subsequent assistance to the police force.

Roni Taualupe, 26, of Lalor Park, was sentenced on charges of possessing ammunition without a license and holder of a public office misusing said office in Penrith Local Court on Friday.

According to police facts read to the court by Magistrate Brian van Zuylen, Taualupe agreed to smuggle a package that he believed contained tobacco into Parklea Correctional Centre sometime between April 14 and April 19 last year.

A bag of illicit drugs that Roni Taualupe smuggled into Parklea Correctional Centre in April last year. Picture: NSW Police

However, when the package was intercepted, police found other illicit substances inside.

Police later stopped Taualupe in the carpark of the jail, where they found six rounds of ammunition in his glovebox.

Taualupe told police the rounds were from his training as a prison guard, and he’d accidentally left them in his pocket before putting them in his car.

Roni Taualupe leaves Penrith Local Court after a court appearance in December last year.

In court, Taualupe’s lawyer acknowledged the charges were serious, but said he genuinely believed there was only tobacco in the package.

“The package was sealed in a plastic bag wrapped in tape,” she said.

“He made immediate and frank admissions to police, followed by a formal statement.

“Taualupe also attended court to give evidence against two other men named in the facts, which is consistent with his admissions.”

The lawyer said Taualupe was driven by a fear for the safety of his young family.

“He’d only been in the role for a few months, and he noticed how dangerous it was,” she said.

“Inmates approached him and knew personal details, including where his family lived, and this caused great concern.

“He thought if he did this, it wouldn’t jeopardise his family’s safety.”

His lawyer submitted Taualupe had shown genuine remorse, and was the only financial support for his family.

Roni Taualupe had only been working as a prison guard for a matter of months before his offending at Parklea Correctional Centre.

Magistrate van Zuylen said the section five threshold had been crossed and he considered full-time jail an appropriate punishment, but said Taualupe’s assistance to police after the fact would greatly reduce his punishment.

He sentenced Taualupe to a 10-month intensive corrections order after telling him he would have served 18 months in jail without the assistance.

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