Luke Conroy: Kincumber drug importer jailed over baby formula plot
A hapless drug importer who thought a quarter of a kilogram of ice wouldn’t be picked up on Border Force X-rays because “it’s organic like meth” has been jailed. The 23-year-old was supported by his family in court before being taken down to the cells to start his prison sentence.
Central Coast
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A Central Coast man has been sent to prison for his involvement in a failed plot to bring a quarter of a kilogram of ice into Australia hidden inside baby formula.
Luke William Conroy, 23, from Kincumber on the Central Coast, was sentenced to four years imprisonment with a non-parole of two years and four months on Friday in the NSW District Court.
He had previously pleaded guilty to one charge of import a marketable quantity of border controlled drug.
Conroy was arrested outside Kensington post office in Sydney’s east on October 9 last year after collecting a package sent from the US which he believed contained 250g of meth.
However, the 250g of meth – with an estimated street value of $190,000 – was intercepted by Border Force officers hidden inside baby formula.
The package also included a teddy bear, bibs, baby teethers and bottles.
Police replaced the drugs with a substitute and monitored the delivery of the package which led to Conroy being arrested.
The court heard Conroy had been offered about $5000 to collect the package and was planning on repackaging the meth into smaller packages to send out to customers.
The court heard he was following instructions from unknown associates within the drug syndicate, on his phone via the app Wickr.
The agreed facts stated in one of the Wickr conversations, Conroy messaged an associate and questioned whether hiding a drug inside baby formula would actually work.
“It gets sussed out hard I think,” Conroy wrote.
“Nar it works. Cause its organic like meth. Looks the same. On the X-Ray,” an associate, by the name of Jackson10, replied.
“Oh s*** really … hahaha that’s dope.”
Judge Garry Neilson said Conroy played an “integral role” within the syndicate and had committed the offence for financial reward.
He accepted Conroy was suffering from anxiety and depression at the time of the offence “which clearly clouded or affected his judgement”.
The court heard Conroy had lost a relative he was close to and his partner had also gone through an abortion in the months leading up to the offence, which had added to his existing mental health issues.
The court also heard he had a $25,000 debt which he owed to his mum and he was in need of money.
“I did not have a job or any income,” he said in court. “When that money was offered I did not have any income and sort of jumped at it.”
The court heard he had suffered knee injuries in the past which had put him out of work but he had gained work as a removalist prior to his being sent to prison.
His family supported him in court on Friday.