Michael Thompson: COVID-19 forced gym worker into dealing drugs
A court has heard how an upstanding member of the public turned to the murky world of drug dealing after losing his gym job because of COVID-19 restrictions.
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A wannabe exercise physiologist left jobless due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been busted making ANZAC Day weed deliveries out of a black backpack in Surry Hills.
The court heard Michael Norman Thompson, 38, had lost his job at a gym due to the global health crisis which led him to become a cannabis dealer.
Police spotted the Cherrybrook man on a mobile phone as he drove a Volkswagen Polo in Surry Hills just before 10pm on Anzac Day, the police facts reveal.
Thompson, who is studying exercise physiology, parked the car and began walking down the street to meet a man and entered an address.
Police pounced when the Cherrybrook man returned to the car and located $240 in his pocket, leading Thompson to confess he had cannabis on him, with two envelopes containing 13g of cannabis and $600 cash found in the backpack.
When asked why he had the drugs, Thompson said “I drop it off … for money”, court documents state. The mature age university student also said only $400 of the $600 cash was his.
His lawyer told the court the standdown of staff at his gym put him in a desperate situation which saw him commit crimes when “he was old enough to know better”.
Magistrate Jane Mottley said Thompson, who didn’t use drugs and was described in court references as an upstanding member of the community, was purely motivated by money.
He was convicted for drug supply and dealing with the property proceeds of crime and fined $1760.