Aaron Yaffe: Collaroy man sentenced for 1kg ‘ice’ supply, gun possession

A northern beaches man has been jailed for his role in a drug supply syndicate, following the discovery of 1kg of ‘ice’, a handgun and 10 mobile phones in the carpark of a unit complex.

Yaffe was sentenced for the commercial supply of ‘ice’. (Generic picture).

A man who had more than a kilogram “crystal meth” stashed in a car park under a block of flats on the northern beaches, has been handed a lengthy sentence.

Aaron Yaffe, 52, was sentenced for commercial drug supply and illegal firearm possession at Downing Centre District Court on Friday.

The court heard Yaffe had been the subject of an extensive police surveillance operation which led to him being discovered in possession of a significant amount of methamphetamine — a total of 1.04kg — in a storage cupboard.

Police raided his home with a search warrant in January 2022 and arrested him on January 11, resulting in 15 months behind bars on remand awaiting sentence.

Items found in the cupboard included a small bag containing 10 mobile phones, a front door key, binder folders, receipts, and additional drug paraphernalia.

Yaffe was discovered in possession of a total of 1.04 kgs methamphetamine in a storage cupboard.

The firearms charge referred to the discovery of an unauthorised handgun in the storage cupboard.

Police who had been undertaking an investigation into illegal drug supply began monitoring Yaffe in 2021.

The court heard police obtained CCTV footage showing Yaffe visiting a storage cupboard in a communal area of the underground car park on 40 occasions.

Detectives had mobile phone intercepts that recorded Mr Yaffe referring to the storage area as the “special stash spot”.

In an intercepted phone call from early September 2021, the court heard Yaffe told an associate he stood to make $700,000 from items that “would be dropped at his house”.

Judge Sarah Hopkins said Yaffe faced a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for the commercial drug supply charge.

Ms Hopkins took note of the three psychological reports and numerous medical reports tendered to the court, which detailed Yaffe’s mental health diagnoses of schizophrenia and post traumatic stress disorder, stemming from a car crash where he sustained significant head injuries at the age of 17.

She said she found there had been a “causal link” between the head-on collision and subsequent years of “chronic” drug use, resulting in escalating mental health issues which may have further led to the offending.

Considering Yaffe’s role in the wider drug syndicate, Ms Hopkins said while she found the offence was for “financial gain”, the 52-year-old’s drug dependence and history of mental health must be factored into the court’s sentencing.

She noted the prosecutor’s assertion the man was “one of the princip protagonists” of the drug supply operation, but found his role was “unsophisticated” and fell toward “the lower end” of objective seriousness.

Magistrate Hopkins convicted Yaffe for commercial drug supply and illegal firearm possession and sentenced him to five years imprisonment with a non-parole period of two-and-a-half years.