Zach Lokeni: Springfield scaffolder guilty of trafficking drugs for year

An Ipswich man has pleaded guilty at the 11th hour to trafficking in dangerous drugs for nearly a year and possessing cash and tick sheets.

An Ipswich scaffolder and ex-rugby league player has admitted to trafficking in cannabis for almost a year after 11th-hour negotiations between the Crown and defence.

Springfield man Zach Paulo Lokeni, 28, was arraigned in Ipswich District Court on Tuesday on five indictable offences.

They included trafficking in cannabis, possessing a quantity of cash suspected of being the proceeds of a drug trafficking operation, two counts of possessing dangerous drugs, and possessing drug paraphernalia.

Lokeni’s cannabis trafficking operation occurred between December 30, 2015 – December 26, 2016, at Springfield and elsewhere.

The other four offences were detected on October 26, 2017.

Springfield scaffolder Zach Paulo Lokeni, 28. Picture: Alex Treacy

They included possessing cannabis and MDMA, possessing a quantity of Australian currency, and possessing a variety of drug paraphernalia including clipseal bags, digital scales and notebooks containing tick sheets.

The court heard the five charges were listed for trial before Judge Orazio Rinaudo, but 11th-hour conferencing between the Crown and Lokeni’s defence team resolved the outstanding issues.

Lokeni was subsequently sentenced to five years' imprisonment, wholly suspended for an operational period of five years.

The Queensland Times has previously reported on Lokeni in 2019 when he was busted driving to a court appearance while on a licence which had been disqualified by a court order.

Lokeni is well-known in southeast Queensland rugby league circles after he turned out in an Ipswich league powerhouse’s Reserve Grade team in 2015.

Prior to that, Lokeni played representative junior rugby league for Souths Logan.

Originally published as Zach Lokeni: Springfield scaffolder guilty of trafficking drugs for year