Gosford: Beau Dennis Marshall’s sentence hearing begins for drug supply

The man at the centre of a syndicate supplying `ice’ from the Central Coast to Tamworth had not long been out of jail when resorted back to selling drugs, a court has heard.

Beau Dennis Marshall had a disadvantaged childhood which saw him addicted to drugs and alcohol by his early teens.

But when he got out on parole in 2020 after serving a term of imprisonment for supplying drugs, the now 31-year-old couldn’t find a job and resorted to his life of addiction and supply, a court has heard.

Marshall faced a sentence hearing at Gosford District Court on Friday after pleading guilty to supplying a large commercial quantity of drugs between September 24 and December 2, 2020, knowingly deal with the proceeds of crime and possessing a prohibited drug.

The court heard Marshall, of Chittaway Point, was the “pinnacle” of a syndicate who would source drugs from an upline supplier in Sydney before onselling them directly to customers on the coast or use “couriers” to deliver drugs to a man in Tamworth.

His barrister said while Marshall’s prospects of rehabilitation were “guarded” he was still a young man who’s troubled childhood set him on a path towards addiction and underlying mental health disorders, which had largely gone undiagnosed.

Marshall’s barrister said his client showed remorse and later told a psychologist “I saw the money and it got the better of me”.

However the Crown argued Marshall had been released on parole in 2020 after serving time for drug offences and not being able to find a job, resorted to selling drugs.

“He just keeps doing it,” the Crown prosecutor told the court.

Marshall faced a sentence hearing at Gosford District Court on Friday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

An agreed set of facts states Tuggerah Lakes Police established Strike Force Harle to investigate the supply of methylamphetamine on the Central Coast.

Not long after, officers from Oxley Police District established Strike Force Kunderbung to investigate the supply of `ice’ in the Tamworth area.

The facts state Marshall would supply drugs locally or via couriers to a man in Tamworth.

“Marshall repeatedly urged and tried to arrange for (the couriers) not to travel at night, to avoid ‘RBT’ times and avoided sending the same car to Tamworth two days in a row to avoid suspicion and police detection,” the facts state.

Marshall also arranged for the men to have “paperwork” and other work-related reasons as cover stories to be in the Tamworth area “to deflect suspicions as to their reason for travelling”.

Marshall has a growing collection of police mug shots following his various arrests. Picture: NSW Police

Officers from both strike forces obtained warrants to intercept Marshall and several other men’s phones and through recorded calls and physical surveillance, found Marshall conducted no less than 103 drug transactions with a total amount of 1.4652kg of methylamphetamine between September 24 and December 2 last year.

The facts state Marshall supplied his Tamworth contact a total of 1.12kg of ice on nine occasions and received between $285,000 and $326,500 in payments.

On one occasion a courier picked up 140g of ice from Marshall’s home at Chittaway Point, and drove it to a house at Fitzroy St, Barraba, an hour north of Tamworth where he received $42,500.

At the time police surveillance observed the courier to be “in the company of his son, (aged 11)” the facts state.

In December 2020 police conducted a series of simultaneous raids on properties on the Central Coast and Tamworth where they also stopped a Toyota HiLux near Willow Tree.

Police searched the ute and located $80,000 in cash and a small steel toolbox screwed to the undercarriage of the vehicle containing 109.6g of methylamphetamine.

Police searched Marshall’s Geoffrey Rd property at Chittaway Point where they seized mobile phones, $25,000 cash and 11.89g of methylamphetamine.

The facts state Marshall fled the house shortly before the search and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

On February 4, 2021, Marshall called Woy Woy Police Station and stated that “he was willing to turn himself in”.

The court heard six other men were charged over their alleged involvement in the drug supply syndicate and will face sentence after Marshall, who was adjourned to reappear on September 28.