Ricky Meoli: Sydney man who imported Chinese liquid ecstasy jailed
A drug dealer thought he was onto a winning formula importing huge quantities of liquid ecstasy through the post from China. However, his scheme unravelled when ABF officers started intercepting the packages.
St George Shire Standard
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A Sydney man who bought liquid ecstasy over the internet and imported it from China will spend at least four and a half years behind bars after his “unsophisticated” plan unravelled.
Ricky Laurence Meoli, 32, formerly from Gymea, appeared via audio visual link at Downing Centre District Court on Thursday to be sentenced for the drug scheme.
The court heard he attempted to have three separate packages of the drug GBL, also known as liquid ecstasy, sent from China between February and August 2019 after buying the drugs on the internet.
Australian Border Force officers intercepted the three packages which each contained about 1L of the drug and destroyed the first two consignments.
However, the court heard police replaced the drugs in the third package with a fake substance and had it delivered to a post office.
Meoli collected the package on September 4, 2019 and was arrested two days later.
The court heard police had begun monitoring his messages prior to the arrest which led to him being charged with supply as well as importation.
The court heard he was part of a “drug supply business” and supplied about 1L of the drug to another man in August 2019 to sell on to other customers.
“The offender regularly changed his telephone number and vehicle to avoid detection,” Judge Helen Syme read out, during the sentence.
She said his operation was “unsophisticated” and she noted even after the first two consignments failed to arrive, because they were intercepted by ABF officers, Meoli continued to try and import the drug through the post.
Meoli was sentenced for three counts of import marketable quantity of border controlled drug, two counts of supply prohibited drug, one count of drive motor vehicle while disqualified, and one count of possess a prohibited weapon.
The weapon charge related to his being found with a knife when police arrested him and he had previously pleaded guilty to the charges.
Meoli was sentenced to a minimum of four and a half years imprisonment with a head sentence of seven years.
His prison sentence was back dated to begin in December 2019 meaning he will be eligible for release in mid-2024.
Meoli’s mother wept at the back of the court as the judgement was read out while his partner also watched on.
His defence lawyer had previously told the court that Meoli’s offending was a “classic escalation in drug dependence” which saw him battle his own drug problems before getting involved in supply.
“This offender had a very serious drug problem and had it for many, many years.”
The court heard Meoli suffers from Crohn’s disease and he appeared on audio visual link from the hospital at Long Bay Correctional Centre.
Meoli has a lengthy criminal record and recently served a term of imprisonment for a break and enter offence.