Mathew Faulkner: Illawarra tradie charged with indictable drug supply and weapons offences

A tradie has allegedly been busted with an assortment of drugs and a taser after police raided his caravan in Figtree.

Mathew Faulkner appeared in Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday.

An Illawarra tradie has allegedly been busted with an assortment of drugs and a taser after police raided his caravan in Figtree.

Mathew James Faulkner, 43, appeared at Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday after being arrested and charged with a litany of drug and weapons offences.

The charges include five counts of possessing a prohibited drug, supplying an indictable quantity of drugs, three counts of possessing a prohibited firearm without a permit, using a prohibited weapon contrary to a prohibition and dealing with the proceeds of crime of a value less than $100,000.

Documents tendered in court during Faulkner’s bail application state he was served with a firearm and weapons prohibition order on November 1, with police conducting a compliance search of his abode on Thursday about 9.50am.

Police allege they found two spring-loaded extendable batons and a handheld taser which he told officers was a cattle prod.

The documents state police arrested him at the point before continuing to search the caravan where they allegedly located two LSD tablets, an MDMA tablet, 0.5g of meth and 25 cannabis seeds.

Police allegedly also found scales, drug ledgers and a whiteboard containing acronyms for various drugs with the prices listed next to them.

They also allege they found a safe which they accessed with the code “Mathew” and once inside they allegedly seized four 100ml bottles of liquid ecstasy, a drug ledger book and $1410 cash.

Four 100ml bottles of liquid ecstasy were allegedly located in a safe.

In court on Wednesday, Magistrate Claire Girotto said it “looks like a pretty strong prosecution case”, adding there “appears to be a drug problem” the accused is experiencing.

Faulker’s lawyer, Matthew Ward, submitted his client has strong community ties and medical ailments – including swelling legs – in an attempt to secure his conditional liberty.

Mr Ward conceded Faulkner has a criminal history, but noted he did not have an issue with abiding by court orders.

Mr Ward also said a custodial sentence was not “fait accompli” given “even on the Crown case it is a fairly low-end operation”.

Ms Girotto granted Faulkner bail while imposing daily reporting to police, a night-time curfew and a requirement to undergo an assessment by the Illawarra Drug and Alcohol Service.

The matter will return to court this month.

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