Drug dealing handyman claimed money exchanges were for pizzas, not drugs

A drug dealer-turned-handyman tried to pull an outrageous excuse to cops about his incriminating text messages, asking detectives “Do you know how expensive 50-60 pizzas are?”

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“Do you know how expensive 50 to 60 pizzas are?”

That is the excuse drug dealer Trent Elford-Ciantar gave to cops when they found a slew of incriminating messages on his phone and 8g of MDMA hidden inside a plastic lunchbox.

The 29-year-old from Liverpool immediately caught the attention of detectives during a random stop in Bondi Junction last year, appearing “nervous, shaking and stuttering” the Downing Centre District Court heard.

Trent Elford Ciantar, avoided jail time as part of his sentencing. Picture: Facebook.

When they searched his vehicle and mobile, police soon realised why.

Using the username Mollyforu on the encrypted app Wickr, officers uncovered a cache of messages on his phone detailing Elford-Ciantar’s drug dealing activities, the most recent of which he told them were about buying manoosh for a party.

It was at that point he suggested to officers the large sums of money being discussed were instead about buying “50 to 60 pizzas” for a large get-together.

The drugs found by police.

One of the messages found by police.

The black Samsung seized by police revealed a horde of contacts looking for drugs across Sydney.

The day before his arrest, Elford-Ciantar had sent someone an image of white powder on a scale which earned a reply: “good s***”.

The court heard he denies the 8g of MDMA was for the purpose of dealing but was intended for personal use, despite his plea of guilty to supplying an indictable quantity of the drug.

The drugs were located after a “shaking” Elford was pulled over in Bondi Junction.

Elford-Ciantar is will soon be a father of two, with his partner due to give birth next year. Picture: Facebook

In one message last April, he wrote that drugs had “just landed … a mate brought it back with him”, while in another he noted his “supplier just got done”.

Acknowledging he had overcome a drug habit which began when he was 14, Judge Gina O’Rourke sentenced the real estate handyman to an 18 month intensive corrections order.

As part of the punishment, Elford-Ciantar will have to complete 300 hours of community service.

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