James Booth sentenced for large commercial drug supply

A Sydney carpenter sold drugs worth more than $430,000 to an undercover officer when he was in the depths of crippling addiction. Now, he has been praised for turning his life around.

James Booth around the time of his 2021 arrest. Picture: Supplied

An eastern suburbs carpenter who couriered drugs to an undercover officer in efforts to pay his own drug debt has been praised by a judge for his courage to become a different man.

James Booth had 17 long, harrowing months behind bars on remand to ponder what he would like his life to become after he was arrested and charged with large commercial drug supply.

He has been spared any more after a judge found the community would be best served if he was not returned to custody – and instead continues to transform himself in the community.

The Rose Bay man was arrested alongside five other men across Sydney and the Illawarra and charged with selling cocaine, ice and MDMA worth tens of thousands of dollars directly to an undercover police officer in April 2021.

He ultimately pleaded guilty to supplying 1.223kg of meth and 842.5g of MDMA, with the court considering a further charge of supplying 868.9g of cocaine on sentence.

James Booth.

In December last year, Booth gave a frank appraisal of his own behaviour to Judge Pauline David in his desperate bid not to return to the place which still haunts his nightmares.

“I feel like a different person, I can see what is wrong and right, how I’ve hurt my family,” Booth told the court.

“It’s terrible, obviously, I can’t believe what I was doing with my life – (the harm I would have caused by dealing drugs is) the same harm it had on me, I had that drug problem as well.”

James Booth.

On Wednesday at Sydney District Court, Judge David acknowledged Booth had taken on the courier role for two syndicate directors after descending helplessly into a $150,000 personal drug debt due to his own cocaine addiction.

Between November 6, 2020 and April 1, 2021, Booth supplied cocaine, ice and MDMA to an undercover police officer on 12 occasions in exchange for more than $430,000 in total.

The court accepted Booth had not stood to gain financially other than to make a dent in his own outstanding personal debt.

Judge David also accepted the arrest had been a wake-up call for Booth – who has now abstained entirely from cocaine, steroids and other drugs since his arrest and incarceration in April 2021.

Some of the drugs seized when Booth and his fellow syndicate members were arrested in April 2021 under Strike Force Gommera.

Booth has also completed 17 months in rehabilitation and voluntarily undertook regular drug tests as a testament to his own ability to fight his addiction – and win.

The 29-year-old carpenter – who now subcontracts to high profile Sydney developers Steven and Carmen Davidson – was also given credit for the particularly harsh conditions he endured in custody during the Covid-19 pandemic’s worst months.

Judge David praised Booth for his staunch effort to become a different man after his confronting experience of custody and his own reflection on his conduct.

“He has taken every step possible to change his life,” Judge David said.

“It’s in the interests of the community that he continue to contribute as the drug-free, insightful and hard working man he has become – any other offender would be inspired by his courage and commitment to rehabilitation, which we all know is not easy.”

Booth (right) during his April 2021 arrest.

Booth was convicted and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for supplying the large commercial quantity of ice, with a non-parole period of two years and three months.

Between his time on remand and the quasi-custodial conditions he endured in rehabilitation, Judge David said his non-parole period had been served.

He was further sentenced to a two-year intensive correction order for the large commercial supply of MDMA.

For the term for the order, he must submit to supervision by Community Corrections, abstain from drugs, and not associate with any of his fellow syndicate members.