Strike Force Treceagle: Karen Leigh Eyre, 46, of Berkeley Vale, pleads guilty to drug supply
A suburban drug dealer didn’t want her “sticky beak” neighbours to know what she was doing, so she banned customers from visiting her house and thought of another cunning plan, a court has heard.
Central Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Central Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A middle-aged, mid-level, suburban drug dealer has pleaded guilty to supplying large quantities of meth under the nose of her “sticky beak” neighbours, a court has heard.
Karen Leigh Eyre, 46, of Berkeley Vale, faced Wyong Local Court on Tuesday where she pleaded guilty to two counts of supplying drugs on an ongoing basis.
She also pleaded guilty to two counts of supplying separate amounts of meth, possessing 28g of cannabis and possessing a prohibited weapon in the form of “Wolverine-style bladed knuckledusters”.
An agreed set of facts states Tuggerah Lakes Police Drugs and Anti-Theft unit formed Strike Force Treceagle in September 2021.
On February 17, 2022, police were granted a warrant to tap Eyre’s phone and they quickly established she was an “up-line” supplier of meth to several street-level dealers but was a “down-line” supplier from Terrigal couple Ebony Bagnall and Nathan Regattieri.
“The offender commonly used coded language to refer to different quantities of methamphetamine which included the following words to refer to methamphetamine: shoes, equipment, (hours of) work, cupcakes, flavour toppings, gym sessions,” the facts state.
She also used the encrypted app Signal to communicate with Bagnall and Regattieri.
The facts state between June 9, 2022 and March 15, 2023, Eyre was intercepted receiving and on-selling almost 200g of meth for “financial reward” in dozens of individual deals.
On June 18, 2022 she was intercepted telling one customer not to come to her house.
“I’ve got 2 lots of new neighbours and one of them is a real sticky beak so I’d have to meet u up the rd from mine so u’ll have to call or msg me when your close & I’ll cum meet ya,” she told the man.
A few days later she told another customer: “Nah, I’m not having ppl cum 2 mine anymore I have 2 meet u down the rd”.
On March 15, 2023, officers attached to Strike Force Treceagle conducted a series of dawn raids at several properties across the northern suburbs of the Central Coast including Eyre’s Berkeley Vale address.
Police searched her Gregory St home where they found 9.95g of meth and $2650 cash.
“Inside the offender’s bedroom, police also located 28g of cannabis leaf and a pair of ‘wolverine-style bladed knuckledusters’,” the facts state.
She told police the knuckledusters belonged to a friend who had worn them as part of a Halloween costume but had left them at her house after the party.
Eyre was taken to Wyong Police Station and participated in a recorded interview where she admitted to having the cannabis and meth found at her house but denied supplying drugs.
She was adjourned to face Gosford District Court for arraignment on March 27.
Her “up-line suppliers”, Ebony Bagnall and Nathan Regattieri, were also charged with supplying prohibited drugs.
Bagnall, 30, pleaded guilty to possessing prohibited drugs but not guilty to supplying a large commercial quantity of meth and will face trial in Gosford District Court in June.
Her partner at the time Regattieri pleaded guilty to 26 counts of supplying and possessing drugs, recklessly dealing with proceeds of crime and having goods suspected of being stolen.
He was sentenced last August to seven years and six months jail with a non-parole period of five years and seven months.
All up nearly a dozen people were arrested and charged following the Strike Force Treceagle investigation.
Alleged motorcycle joyrider hit with more than 100 charges
An unlicensed rider allegedly provided a false name when buying a motorcycle and then led police on two high-speed pursuits just days apart before bragging about it, a court has heard.
Read more
Train drunk groped female cop’s groin before making threats
A “belligerent” drunk, who refused to get off a train while he was smoking cigarettes and quaffing alcohol, groped a female officer’s groin before being tackled to the ground.
Read more