Stanmore man Zachary Vellins jailed for commercial drug supply after cross-border drug run
A Sydney locksmith dealing drugs on the side has been locked up for his role in attempting to smuggle more than 6kg of Melbourne meth into the NSW capital.
Macarthur
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A Sydney locksmith dealing drugs on the side has been locked up for his role in attempting to smuggle more than 6kg of Melbourne meth into the NSW capital.
Zachary Vellins, the 28-year-old owner of Top Tier Locksmiths, appeared in Wollongong District Court this month where he was jailed for a maximum of two years and three months after pleading guilty to commercial drug supply and taking part in commercial drug supply.
Court documents state Vellins worked on the illicit trade alongside co-offender Nicholas McClymont who, on May 7, 2023, instructed him to book an Airbnb in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Richmond for May 8 and 9.
McClymont, 28, told Vellins he would pick him up the following at about 5.30am and he should pack “a bag as if we’re going for a week or three days or something”.
The pair left Vellins’ home on Margaret St, Stanmore, about 5.41am in McClymont’s Toyota Aurion before making good time and reaching Melbourne shortly before 4pm.
Documents state the criminals left Richmond at 6.36am on May 9 and nearly made it back to Sydney before being intercepted by monitoring police who nabbed them at Menangle Park.
Police seized 6.3kg of meth and $4100 stored in the passenger seat footwall as well as an RF detector. Both men were arrested and taken to Camden Police station.
Documents state police went to Vellins address and searched his home and Toyota Hiace work van. In the vehicle they found a “sophisticated hide space” where they located 344.7g of heroin while in his room they seized 37.8g of testosterone.
The $4100 was given back to the offender in February after it was deemed not to be a part of the criminal conduct.
Judge David Arnott, who usually sits at Campbelltown District Court, handed down the sentence while noting the “objective seriousness was towards the lower range” for this type of offence, but was “nowhere near the bottom”.
The court heard Vellins had delayed cognitive development with borderline cognitive function and he had been assaulted in prison.
Despite this, the court heard Vellins had participated in a range of courses in custody including completing a Spanish language class.
With time already served Vellins will be released on parole in February, 2025, with the court hearing he would live with his mother at Dulwich Hill.
McClymont was sentenced in June after pleading guilty to large commercial drug supply and dealing with the proceeds of time.
Judge William Fitzsimmons jailed him for three years and six months with a non-parole period of a year and 10 months.
He will be released in March, 2025.
Got a court yarn? Email dylan.arvela@news.com.au
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