Taia Kakahi accused of supplying ‘sparkly GBL’ fails in rehab bail bid
An Illawarra woman accused of supplying more than 20kg of liquid ecstasy she’d allegedly ‘trademarked’ with glitter has tried to get bail so she can attend rehab.
Illawarra Star
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A Warilla mum allegedly caught dealing more than 20kg of GBL she’d ‘trademarked’ with sparkly glitter has been refused bail to attend a residential rehab program.
Taia Kakahi faced court on October 7 from a jail cell at Mary Wade Correctional Centre, where her defence lawyer made an application for bail so she could attend a live-in rehab program to address her liquid ecstasy addiction issues.
“It’s not easy to get into (a rehabilitation program), and in my submission that shows her dedication and commitment to gain a bed,” he defence lawyer Matt Ward said.
“In a text message she said ‘Yay I G’d myself out on mums bed last night FML’ … that seems fairly consistent with personal use.”
However Magistrate Mark Douglass refused the application, saying he wasn’t “persuaded” that Kakahi was sick in custody and in “urgent need” of rehab.
“In my view this is seen as (alleged) large-scale dealing and a person who used drugs in that process,” he said.
“It seems to be rehab is more something that can be used on sentence rather than for desperate need.”
Kakahi was first charged on April 17, after police pulled her over on the M1 at Figtree, noticing she was in the car with two other people - an alleged breach of COVID-19 laws.
The traffic stop led to a search of the 38-year-old’s rental car, where police allegedly found three bottles of sparkly GBL, with an alleged street value of more than $14,000.
In documents previously tendered to Wollongong Local Court, Kakahi allegedly told police the first bottle of liquid they found in the car was “drinks”, which is the street name used for GBL, also known as liquid ecstasy.
Further searches allegedly uncovered two smaller sized glass bottles of the same sparkly fluid in the driver’s side door. In the documents, police estimate the bottles contained 200ml and 100ml respectively, with a field test confirming they all contained GBL.
Located in the centre console was a ‘glitter kit’, according to court documents, which the mum-of-three allegedly added to the GBL as a “personal trademark”.
She was charged with two counts of drug supply and breaching COVID-19 legislation and refused bail at the time.
Kakahi was slapped with an additional 10 charges following further investigations into her alleged dealing in July. The new charges include four counts of supply prohibited drug, four counts of supply prohibited drug – commercial quantity, two counts of supply prohibited drug – large commercial quantity and deal with property suspected proceeds of crime.
According to court documents, the newer charges relate to the supply of more than 28 kilograms of GBL, as well as the alleged supply of 70 grams of methamphetamine.
The 37-year-old will remain behind bars on remand until her next appearance before the court.