James Hanna: Dentist’s epic fail when questioned by cops

A stressed-out city dentist drove straight into trouble when he got lost on his way to a country NSW escape with some mates and 11 bags of cocaine.

A stressed-out dentist’s escape to the country with his pals and 11 bags of cocaine spectacularly backfired when his suspicious driving led to a vehicle search by local police.

James Mina Hanna, a cosmetic dentist in Sydney, crumbled in the small country town of Wallerawang when he was spotted doing a “sudden sharp turn”.

Police officers pulled the 34-year-old man over for a breath test but his nervy behaviour, including leaning out of the driver’s window in what was believed to be an attempt to keep police at a distance, led to suspicions building.

Dentist James Mina Hanna (right) leaves court with his legal team.

Hanna told the officers he was “going to Coonabarabran” only to be told he was driving in the wrong direction. Agreed police facts state he appeared “very nervous” and couldn’t look the law enforcement officials in the eyes.

When the police officers made the decision to search the car, Hanna came clean and said, “oh, there may be a little bit of cocaine in my bag” before pointing out the location of 11 resealable bags, weighing 6.9g.

Hanna confessed the drugs were for him and his pals for the farm stay, and said “no way” when asked if he was selling the drugs.

The court heard the Blacktown man had appeared in court eight years earlier for cocaine possession, with Magistrate Vivien Swain saying out loud her concerns that he hadn’t learnt his lesson.

His barrister Michael Finnane QC submitted Hanna had been dealing with a number of stressful situations, including the passing of a family member and work commitments, and pointed to his impressive charity record.

“It seems from the statement (Hanna) made to police at the scene, when (police officers) were searching the vehicle, this weekend was designed for relaxation with friends and for reasons only known to the defendant, the possession of the substance would help with that,” Magistrate Swain said.

The police prosecutor called for a criminal conviction to be recorded, in light of the amount of cocaine in Hanna’s possession and the spate of drug use in the community.

The dentist was ultimately spared a criminal conviction for drug possession and sentenced to a two-year conditional release order.