Luke Conroy: Kincumber man in failed plot to import ice in baby formula
A young man thought he’d struck gold when he was convinced by pals that imported ice would not show up on x-ray scanners because “it’s organic”. But when he went to pick up the package from the post office the cops were waiting. He’s now been dumped by his lawyer and told he likely faces a prison sentence.
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A Central Coast man sent messages asking whether importing nearly $200,000 worth of the drug ice inside baby formula would actually work – before being arrested outside a Sydney post office with the drug package.
Luke William Conroy, 23, from Kincumber on the Central Coast, was arrested on October 9 last year after walking out of an Australia Post shop in Kensington with a package he believed contained methamphetamine.
Australian Border Force officers had earlier detected anomalies inside the package sent from the US, and found 249g of the drug hidden inside baby formula.
The package also included a teddy bear, bibs, baby teethers and bottles.
NSW Police replaced the drugs, which had an estimated street value of $190,000, with a substitute before carrying out a controlled delivery of the package.
The agreed facts stated when Conroy was arrested he told police “ice? I don’t touch that s*** I’m just picking up a parcel for a mate”.
Police also found a series of messages on Conroy’s iPhone on apps Wickr and Signal.
The agreed facts stated in one of the conversations Conroy messaged an unidentified associate and questioned whether hiding a drug inside baby formula would 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.”
The conversations also revealed Conroy was planning on repackaging the drugs inside smaller bags before sending them out via the post to customers, the agreed facts stated.
Conroy appeared in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on Friday to be sentenced for one count of import a marketable quantity of border controlled drug, which he previously pleaded guilty to.
However, he attended court without a lawyer and asked for his matter to be adjourned. He claimed his lawyer had dropped him after he failed to pay $18,000 in legal fees.
“I did not have the money to pay for him,” he said in court. “I was dropped for financial reasons.”
Judge Peter Berman said he was willing to adjourn the sentence until September to give Conroy time to get new legal representation.
“Given what you have done Mr Conroy there is a strong possibility that you are going to go to jail, so I want you to have the strongest representation that you can.”
The agreed facts stated Conroy told police he was selling drugs to help pay for his mum’s mortgage.
He was supported by his mum in court.