Zain Papa sentenced for Bangalow Byron cocaine supply

Bangalow man used cocaine twice a day and dealt the drug to fuel his own dependence before he was caught by undercover cops, a court heard.

From hardworking resident to busted cocaine dealer, a Byron Shire man has narrowly avoided time behind bars for his role in a North Coast cocaine syndicate.

Bangalow man Zain Papa, 30, was arrested back in April 2020 for his role in a Byron Bay and Bangalow cocaine syndicate.

Tweed Heads Local Court heard Papa, who pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two counts of supplying cocaine and driving a motorcycle while never being licensed, was caught out by a $9000 deal for 28g of cocaine with an undercover police officer on February 23,2021.

According to his solicitor Alastair McDougall, Papa was a “gopher” for roommate Kayne Vandermerwe, who has been sentenced for his own supply charges.

Vandermerwe was sentenced to an aggregate jail term of five years and six months for two counts of supplying prohibited drugs on an ongoing supply in Lismore District Court on March 23.

He will be first eligible for parole on January 20, 2024.

It was accepted Papa’s dealing was not to the level of Vandermerwe’s and court documents reveal it was the latter who brought the operation to police attention.

According to court documents, police intercepted the pairs’ phone calls and continued to gather evidence against using telephone intercepts, controlled activities, physical and electronic surveillance.

Papa was able to be identified through a camera in an interlock device in the HiLux which took photographs of the driver.

During the April 22 raid of the Papa’s residence a further 31.95g of cocaine was found in his bedroom by police, court documents state.

Mr McDougall said Papa had served five months in custody after being arrested and had since become abstinent from the drug.

At the height of his addiction Papa was using cocaine twice a day which led him down this “path of destruction” the solicitor said.

“He has worked hard all of his adult life but seemed to have lost his way,” he said.

Magistrate Michael Dakin noted cocaine was a deceptively dangerous drug.

“It is referred to as a party drug regrettably but does he have any idea the harm this stuff does?” he said.

“Serious, if not fatal, cardiac issues.

“(It’s) not really a party is it?”

Zain Papa (far right) talks with lawyers after his sentence was handed down before Tweed Heads Local Court.

Magistrate Dakin noted Papa’s lack of prior offending and that he was a good prospect for rehabilitation.

He convicted Papa on all three counts and sentenced him to a nine-month period of imprisonment in the form of an intensive corrections order.

The order will expire on January 25,2023.

Papa was furthermore fined $400 for the driving charge and ordered he complete 100 hours of community service.

Originally published as Zain Papa sentenced for Bangalow Byron cocaine supply