Matthew Pearce: Newcastle drug kingpin jailed
He was once a promising rugby league player with links to the Newcastle Knights. But a personal trainer turned drug kingpin will not be tasting freedom for some time after being handed a hefty jail sentence.
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A Newcastle drug kingpin who imported and sold cocaine and a substance called butanediol has been sent to prison for at least five years after a judge dismissed a “ludicrous” claim he was unaware the substance could be used as a party drug.
Matthew Shane Pearce, 36, from Newcastle, was the “principal” of a drug syndicate which operated during 2018 and included his brother Brett Pearce and about six others, a court has heard.
The once promising rugby league player who had links with the Newcastle Knights as a young man has been in custody since December 2018 after police brought down the drug operation.
The buffed-up offender fronted the NSW District Court on Friday to be sentenced for serious charges including supply prohibited drug (large commercial quantity), supply prohibited drug (commercial quantity), and import border controlled drug, which he previously pleaded guilty to.
The court heard he imported and supplied 163L of the liquid 1,4-butanediol – which can be used as a party drug similar to GHB – and also supplied 619g of cocaine in the Hunter region.
He also imported ketamine and manufactured about 1kg of butanediol.
The court heard he imported cocaine from the UK and the butanediol from China and was making $1000 per litre from the butanediol.
The former personal trainer used various post office boxes to help import the drugs into Australia.
The court also heard he had plans to expand his enterprise by selling butanediol in other regions as far away as the Gold Coast and Adelaide.
“I accept the offender was willing to explore new markets to build the supply of this drug,” Judge John North said.
However, Pearce claimed he was unaware the chemical could be used as a party drug during much of his offending, and thought he was selling it simply as a cleaning product, the court heard.
Judge North said that claim was “frankly ludicrous” and he must have known its purpose if he was selling it for $1000 per litre.
“The offender knew that the substance was being sold for human consumption,” Judge North said.
Judge North took into consideration Pearce’s debilitating and at times embarrassing medical condition, Crohn’s disease, in handing down the sentence.
He remarked it would make his time in custody more difficult and required some leniency in sentencing.
He was sentenced to a head sentence of eight years imprisonment with a non-parole of five years, with the sentence starting from December 2019. He will be eligible for parole in December 2024.
He also breached a 2016 sentence for supplying steroids and was resentenced on that matter to a prison term of one year which was dated back to begin in December 2018 and conclude in December 2019.
Pearce was also battling a severe cocaine addiction prior to his arrest but Judge North found his offending was for financial gain rather than to support his drug habit.
Brother Brett and fellow co-accused Aaron Macey and Les Mason were sentenced to terms of imprisonment earlier this year for their involvement in the drug syndicate.