Nicole Colbert, Scott Francis: Sutherland couple charged with drug supply
Police allege a young engaged couple acted as an ‘organised’ and ‘sophisticated’ criminal group which distributed cannabis-infused jelly lollies, chocolates and desserts from their Sydney apartment.
St George Shire Standard
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A seemingly squeaky-clean young couple are in hot water after police found kilograms of cannabis-laden desserts allegedly strewn in plain sight around their shared Sutherland home.
Nicole Colbert, 23, and Scott Francis, 25, were granted bail hours apart at Central Local Court on Tuesday after about 3.7 kilograms of cannabis-infused jelly lollies, chocolate and other baked goods were discovered during a police operation targeting the online sales of edible cannabis products.
Police say the young lovers acted as an organised and sophisticated criminal group that allegedly distributed edible cannabis products around Sydney through an online website, with Francis named as the “primary instigator”.
The parties agreed the police case against Colbert, who was working at McDonald’s at the time after losing her job to COVID-19, was significantly weaker than that of Francis and her role somewhat undefined in the police facts.
On September 4, police executed a search warrant on the couple’s Glencoe St home where they allegedly discovered the cannabis edibles and 1.6 kilograms of cannabis and cannabis oil in “highly visible areas in the house” including the fridge and kitchen.
The drug operation, the court heard, involved turning the cannabis leaf into edible items and preparing the drugs for supply.
A prosecutor told the court some cannabis was found in the process of being packaged.
These packaged items with “unique identifiers” were the same items supplied by Francis to an undercover operative.
Two unidentified “chefs for the operation” are still at large, the court heard.
In the raid, ledgers and under $10,000 cash were also allegedly found.
While the prosecution argued that Colbert must have had at least some “knowledge” of the drug operation allegedly happening under her own roof, her defence team claimed merely finding the cannabis was not enough to constitute possession, and deemed supply, of the drugs.
In granting Colbert bail to stay at her parents’ Padstow home, Magistrate Clare Farnan said: “I would accept that there is no evidence that Colbert herself was significantly involved in the business enterprise”.
She has been charged with three counts of prohibited drug supply, dealing with crime proceeds and participating in a criminal group.
Ms Farnan called the police case against Francis strong, which includes electronic surveillance evidence and telephone intercepts.
She granted him bail based on the very small amounts of THC in the edible products, which formed the alleged large commercial drug supply.
She also said the website used to sell the edible cannabis products was “available to anyone who has Google” and disagreed that the drug operation was sophisticated.
Francis has been charged with 12 counts of prohibited drug supply, dealing with crime proceeds and participating in a criminal group.
Colbert had previously worked as a laser hair removal technician, while Francis had worked at SkyZone indoor trampoline park.
The pair are now engaged and have been together for more than six years.
The parents of both accused sat in the courtroom, with the court hearing Francis’ father, a member of the Australian Army, was killed in the course of training.
In 2015 Defence Australia reported Gary Francis, a member of the Australian Army’s 2 Commando Regiment, was leading a Special Forces Mountain and Cold Weather Operations course in New Zealand’s Mount Cook National Park when he fell without warning through an ice bridge at a height of 40m on July 16 2014.
Sgt Francis was an experienced and qualified mountaineer with 22 years’ service in the Royal Marines and five years’ service with the Australian Army, and a subsequent inquiry found the tragedy was a terrible accident.