Kenny Neal: Penrith man to be sentenced for cannabis supply

A western Sydney man who had kilograms of cannabis personally couriered to his home as part of a drug supply operation has confessed to his crimes.

For two months, police officers watched on as kilograms of cannabis leaf were personally delivered to the Penrith home of Kenneth Neal.

A police investigation, codenamed Strike Force Unara, had uncovered cannabis being sent to western Sydney from interstate via express post and was being stored in a Kings Park self-storage unit by two men.

Court documents reveal Neal had the drugs personally delivered, often direct to his home, by one of the two men on nine occasions between October and December last year.

In Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday, the 30-year-old father pleaded guilty to two counts of drug supply involving 29kg of cannabis, as well as the possession of a prohibited weapon.

Kenneth Neal.

A signed set of facts tendered to the court outlined how the cannabis would typically be couriered to his address by a man in a white Porsche.

Neal would often exit his home empty-handed, sit in the front passenger seat then a minute later leave with “numerous” white Woolworths shopping bags. He later told police cannabis was “probably” in those bags.

Court documents state the pair were in constant contact to co-ordinate times to transfer the drugs and discuss the quality of the product.

On one occasion, Neal asked for a delivery to take place 20 minutes earlier than arranged as “I’ve got to get the boys” and on another occasion, when making arrangements, tried to co-ordinate the meet up around his soccer.

Phone taps also captured the pair discussing the cannabis, with Neal stating how he believed it was “Asian cannabis” but still “good quality”.

Police raided his Penrith home on December 10 and located a black suitcase with eight vacuum sealed bags of cannabis, weighing a total of 4kg.

When Neal was interviewed by police officers he said he wanted to help and that the cannabis in the suitcase wasn’t his, but he knew it was there.

Court documents state he told police officers he was intending to get rid of the cannabis to people, which by that he meant selling it for money.

Neal with his partner.

The 30-year-old said he met the man who would supply him the cannabis about six months earlier and he initially owed him $10,000, however he had halved that debt by the time of his arrest.

Neal’s partner posted on social media earlier this month about the impact of the Penrith man’s crimes.

“The afternoon of December 10 2020 my life drastically spiralled out of control and has never been the same since,” the post stated. “I don’t want to say goodbye again, but the reality is I may have too and to live with that for so long is painful beyond words.”

Neal will be sentenced in Downing Centre Local Court in November.