Bar owner Kym Van Den Heuvel gets dressing down in court for cocaine use
The young owner of a popular Sydney restaurant was on the end of a remarkable dressing down from a magistrate for his cocaine use, which she said was helping prop up violent drug cartels in South America.
Southern Courier
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A magistrate has issued a cocaine-using restaurateur a severe dressing down — telling him his actions are supporting a “filthy industry” run by murderous South American cartels.
Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge lambasted Camden’s Kym Alexander Van Den Heuvel and told him to think of those who are losing their lives so he can “have a good time”.
The 23-year-old owner of Camden’s Barenz bar was caught with 0.57g of cocaine at Randwick Races on September 7.
“What gets me about this filthy industry of death is not what it does to you mentally and physically but what it does to all the people on the other side of the world that are losing their lives,” Magistrate Milledge said.
She said people were being murdered and kidnapped by drug cartels because of the cocaine industry, which relied on people like Mr Van Den Heuvel.
“We consume more cocaine here than anywhere else on the planet,” she said.
“Not once in your letter did you address the people that are losing their lives getting that rotten filthy drug on the market so respectable people like you can have a good time.”
Mr Van Den Heuvel, a university student who owns the popular restaurant/bar in Camden, pleaded guilty to possess a prohibited drug.
He was sentenced to a conditional release order without conviction.
His defence said that Mr Van Den Heuvel currently employees more than 30 people through his business which also supported multiple community groups and charities.
The agreed facts stated police spotted Mr Van Den Heuvel being handed a phone with a line of white powder on it inside a toilet block at the racecourse.
“As the accused sighted police he has dropped the powder into the toilet.”
Police detained him and searched him, finding a small bag of cocaine, weighing 0.57g.
Mr Van Den Heuvel is currently studying a double degree in business and science at Western Sydney University while running his business.
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