Adam Wellington: Narooma man busted with knife and drugs on train

A butcher travelling on the south coast train line has been busted carrying a sheathed knife and drugs in a black canvas bag, a court has heard.

Adam Wellington was busted with a knife and drugs on a train, a court heard.

A man busted carrying a 19cm unsheathed blade and meth on a train heading to the south coast told police he needed the blade as he was a butcher by trade, a court has heard.

The incident saw Adam Wellington, 32, wind up in Narooma Local Court on Thursday, pleading guilty to charges of having custody of a knife in a public place, possessing a prescribed substance and two counts of possessing prohibited drugs.

However, the Narooma man’s charge of possessing the prescribed substance was dropped after documents stated he needed the drugs for anxiety.

The documents tendered to the court reveal the full details of incident which occurred on February 22 while Wellington was travelling on the train from Sydney to the south coast.

Between February 21 and 22 this year, NSW Police conducted Operation Generate – a police blitz targeting anti social behaviour on public transport.

It was this operation which saw police speak to Wellington on his train as it approached Oak Flats, Shellharbour heading south toward Bomaderry, after a search of his details revealed he was recently charged for drug offences.

Agreed facts state Wellington began to search through a black canvas bag sitting next to him while he looked “nervous and was fidgety”.

Adam Wellington was convicted and fined $1500.

As a result of his behaviour, police began a search of his bag, finding a 19cm unsheathed knife, a crystal substance believed to be methamphetamine, cannabis and multiple alprazolam tablets.

Wellington was arrested and removed from the train before being taken to the Lake Illawarra Police Station.

At the station, Wellington said he needed the knife as he was a butcher by trade, however he informed police the last time he used the blade was more than a week prior during a training session in Western Australia.

“This was not deemed a reasonable excuse to possess the knife,” agreed facts state.

When asked about the methamphetamine, agreed facts state Wellington told police “I don’t know, it’s not mine, I’ve never seen it before”.

Adam Wellington’s case was heard in Narooma Local Court on Thursday.

Checks following the arrest reveal Wellington’s bag contained 2.08g of cannabis and 3.99g of methamphetamine.

He was placed into custody before having bail granted later in the week.

In Narooma Local Court on Thursday, Wellington’s lawyer Daniel Turner said while his client’s criminal history did not assist him, he was taking steps toward moving forward with his life.

“He is working toward becoming a full-time butcher and will be moving to WA in the next few months to keep working at that,” he said.

However, Magistrate Doug Dick said there was no place for items such as knives or drugs on the public transport system.

“I appreciate you are making the right moves to move forward with your life,” he said.

Wellington was convicted and fined $500 for each charge, totalling $1500.

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