Drug dealer Zac Alex Gatica spared jail after found with 693 ecstasy tablets and cash
His Instagram account showed him flaunting a lifestyle of luxury hotels and designer clothes before his arrest. But now a former public servant has been sentenced after a cop raid found this drug dealer had nearly 700 ecstasy tablets and wads of cash.
Canberra Star
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A former public servant who was busted with wads of cash and nearly 700 ecstasy pills during a raid on his suburban Canberra home will not see the inside of a jail cell.
Zac Alex Gatica, of Wright, walked from the ACT Supreme Court on Monday with intensive corrections orders, having spent just one night behind bars following the September 2018 raid.
Drug squad officers found $35,350 in cash bundled in a safe in Gatica’s wardrobe, 693 pills, and a small amount of cocaine at the unit he shared with his partner, Eliza Ride.
Ms Ride was not charged and is not accused of any wrongdoing, and according to court records told police Gatica had supplied her with drugs in the past, and that she left the room when other people came to the unit to buy drugs.
Police also found a series of messages seized from Gatica’s mobile phone detailing his drug dealing.
One of the messages said: “bumping up the order today bruz, I will probably get 50 (to be honest) but will only be able to give you money for 40 today”.
Another message said: “bumping up the order to 30 bruz, I’ll have cash on me, am getting Versace or Playboys”.
Some of the pills police seized were stamped with the Versace and Playboy logos.
Gatica’s unit was also strewn with paraphernalia frequently seized in raids on drug dealers’ houses, including scales and clip seal bags.
His Instagram account showed him flaunting a lifestyle of luxury hotels and designer clothes before his arrest.
The courts have previously heard he quit his public service job when he saw the “writing on the wall” when he was stood down shortly after being charged.
He pleaded guilty in March last year to drug trafficking and receiving tainted cash.
Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlssen flagged as early as December last year she would not be sending Gatica to jail, saying he was young, had a clean criminal record and had two “wonderful women” – his mum and Ms Ride – supporting him as he tried to kick his drug habit.
Justice Loukas-Karlssen sentenced Gatica to two intensive corrections orders, which, combined, run until October 2021.