Kevin Reilly, Luke Drever: Meth cook says he feared for his life

A South Australian man who pleaded guilty to manufacturing methamphetamine in a regional NSW town has told the court he feared for his life. Find out why.

A man who has pleaded guilty to manufacturing methamphetamine has told the Queanbeyan District Court he became a meth cook after former prison buddies threatened him.

South Australian man Luke Drever and co-accused Kevin Reilly were arrested in January 2020 following a raid of a meth lab at Harolds Cross, southwest of Braidwood.

They were arrested following the discovery of the lab by NSW Police in August 2019.

Both men pleaded guilty to knowingly taking part in large scale manufacturing of methamphetamine last year.

While giving evidence during a sentencing hearing Luke Drever told the court he befriended a group of fellow inmates during a previous jail stint who he said would go on to threaten him to cook meth.

Driver had been convicted of manufacturing meth in South Australia in 2009 and said during his time in custody he became the target of bullies.

He said the fellow inmates gave him protection against other people trying to hurt him.

Luke Drever said he was compelled to cook meth after former prison buddies threatened him. Picture: Facebook

However Drever said after those inmates he had befriended were released from jail they approached him to become a meth cook.

“It wasn’t so much a question but a demand,” he told the court.

“(It was first about) me owing them and as a token of friendship.

“I was eventually threatened.

“(They) said they would burn my house down with me and my girlfriend in it.”

He told the court if he did not comply and become a meth cook for the group he would live in constant fear.

“Looking over your shoulder every day, I couldn’t do that,” he said.

Drever told the court since being in custody after his January 2020 arrest he felt guilt for his participation in the drug trade after witnessing the effects it had on drug affected inmates.

“I feel ashamed because (drugs) might not be the entire story but it’s part of the story of why they’re here.”

When asked what he would do if he was approached in the same manner again by criminals wanting him to cook meth Drever said he would “take just about any other course of action”.

Police footage of a 2019 raid at a meth lab in Harold’s Cross near Braidwood NSW. Kevin Reilly and Luke Drever pleaded guilty to manufacturing methamphetamine at the lab. Picture: NSW Police

During cross examination the Crown prosecutor asked Drever if he could name the people who had threatened him.

The meth cook refused to answer and said naming individuals involved would “put me in endless danger”.

The crown prosecutor asked Drever if he was training another person to cook meth so he could leave the syndicate.

Drever told the court he was in the process of training another person prior to his arrest.

Justice Robyn Tupman will hand down sentences for Drever and Reilly on Wednesday.