Jordan Vuibureta, Hammad Yousuf caught with cannabis on M4
A magistrate has slammed a young western Sydney crane operator caught with cannabis, who said he turned to drugs because he couldn’t find a job because of COVID-19.
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Go to South Australia or Portugal. That’s the message a magistrate delivered to Kingswood man Jordan Vuibureta who, along with a mate, was busted with cannabis at South Wentworthville last month.
Vuibureta, 26, pleaded guilty to the offence at Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday after he was charged with possessing a prohibited drug when he and co-accused Hammad Yousuf, 25, were stopped for speeding on the M4 on July 30 at 11.50pm.
Court papers reveal the pair admitted to owning the 5.2g of cannabis in a plastic resealable bag found near the passenger footwell of the car, in which Yousuf was driving and Vuibureta was a passenger.
In court Magistrate Robyn Denes asked former St Dominic’s College student Vuibureta to honestly answer how often he took drugs.
He said since he lost his job as a crane operator three months ago, he turned to drugs.
“So you thought you’d spend money on drugs,’’ Magistrate Denes said.
“It’s going to become a very expensive exercise. It’s not legal here. If you want to use it go to South Australia or Portugal.’’
Medicinal cannabis is legal in South Australia and is decriminalised in Portugal.
Court papers show it was not the first time Vuibureta has been charged with drug offences.
He was charged with possessing a prohibited drug in 2016 and most recently in May, which led him to being fined $300 at Burwood Local Court.
However, his lawyer Rabia Sabbagh told the court Vuibureta had a low risk of reoffending and was sorry for his actions.
Vuibureta penned a letter of apology tendered to the court that said he was ashamed and remorseful for his childish choices.
He wrote about how he had been employed since he left Year 12 and worked as a kitchen hand and concreter before obtaining a crane-operating licence at the start of the year.
“However, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it really difficult for me to get a job and that situation has placed me in a down spell (sic) of negative emotions which have pulled me away from thinking about my future career and pushed me to make those irrational decisions,’’ he said.
Vuibureta, who lives at home with his parents, wrote about how he was “sincerely upset to appear before the court for these offences but more so upset for having disappointed my family whom I love and care for very much’’.
“Being in this position has shifted my perspective entirely as I have been in a great deal of emotional stress thinking about how this can affect my future and how I have disappointed my parents and brother. I want to turn my life around your Honour, and I never want to be in this humiliating position again.”
Vuibureta was convicted and fined $500.
Yousuf, of Mt Druitt, was absent at court but convicted and fined $300.