Faces of Queensland’s meth scourge: 40 dealers who went down in 2022
Despite these drug peddlers being put behind bars over the past year, Queensland’s meth scourge is set to continue. These are 40 faces behind our meth mania.
QLD News
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Startling findings from a national drug survey have shown illicit drug markets across Queensland are being dominated by methylamphetamine consumption, which continues to increase at an alarming rate in the state’s regional towns.
The National Wastewater Drug Monitoring report, published by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission in October, found meth use rose nationally after strict 2020 Covid-19 lockdowns, which the report said affected shipments of illicit drugs from European cartels.
It found meth consumption across Australia was the highest per capita compared with other countries including New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Portugal and South Korea.
Most Queensland regional test sites had above-average consumption of meth with the report also finding increases in most capital cities and regional areas in April 2022.
However, MDMA, or 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, commonly seen in tablet form as ecstasy or in crystal form as molly, continued to decrease to record lows in capital cities and regional sites.
But ACIC chief executive Michael Phelan said illicit drugs such as MDMA, heroin and cocaine were slowly increasing back to pre-pandemic levels.
“That trend is based on decisions by serious and organised crime groups in Europe which are key to the supply of MDMA in Australia,” he said.
“Some of those groups appear to be transitioning from the manufacture of MDMA to methylamphetamine and this appears to be impacting supply of the Australian market.”
Gold Coast Anti Ice Campaign director Glenn Ivers agreed and said harsher penalties were needed along with better education and rehabilitation to thwart an impending meth resurgence after the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions.
He told Gold Coast media the price of meth was coming back down after doubling during Covid lockdowns.
“It’s going to come back like a tsunami now that the floodgates are opening again.”
In Queensland, meth continued to be the basis for many court appearances in 2022.
Here are some of the state’s top cases that ended in convictions.
RICHARD KEVIN ANDERSON: BRISBANE
Richard Kevin Anderson, an alleged Mongols bikie who spent six months trafficking cocaine and ice to fund his own drug habit, was jailed for a year in February.
The 32-year-old, pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Supreme Court to one charge of trafficking in dangerous drugs. The court heard he had already been given a suspended sentence in August 2020 for possessing dangerous drugs in late 2019.
Defence barrister Martin Longhurst said despite already being sentenced, Anderson was then hit with a fresh drug trafficking charge months later in October 2020 relating to the same offending.
It’s understood the fresh charge was laid in the wake of the execution of bikie Shane Bowden when police began raiding properties allegedly connected to bikie gangs and drug distribution.
His trafficking was described as low-level wholesaling and street-level dealing.
Justice Glenn Martin sentenced Anderson to five years’ imprisonment, to be suspended after he has served 12 months behind bars.
GREGORY PETER BETTS: CAIRNS
Gregory Peter Betts was only four months out of prison and on parole when he embarked on trafficking significant amounts of methylamphetamine into Cairns.
The 47-year-old pleaded guilty to trafficking methylamphetamine and other drugs charges, as well as attempting to pervert the course of justice, in the Cairns Supreme Court in June.
The court heard that after being sentenced in February 2019 to six months’ imprisonment for possessing methylamphetamine, cumulative with his previous sentence for trafficking, Betts was only four months out of prison and on parole when he started a “robust” and “cynically commercial” trafficking operation.
Employees would fly to Brisbane strapped with large wads of cash, and packages of methylamphetamine would then be posted back to others whom Betts recruited to avoid detection, Mr Crane said.
The court heard Betts paid in excess of $100,000 for wholesale quantities of methylamphetamine on 10 occasions, and there were a further eight instances where police were unable to determine how much drug was sourced.
The charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice arose when Betts was found in possession of cannabis and MDMA in February 2020.
The court heard he arranged for an associate to claim ownership of the drugs, even taking him to a solicitor to formalise the man’s statutory declaration.
Chief Justice Helen Bowskill sentenced him to nine years and nine months’ imprisonment, to be served cumulatively with 12 months’ jail for attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Betts will be eligible for parole on June 15, 2028.
DYLAN ROBERT ANDREW BROMILOW: GLADSTONE
A heavy drug user, who was using a half ball of methamphetamine a day, started trafficking the drug in Gladstone in early 2021 to pay off a debt.
Dylan Robert Andrew Bromilow, 25, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court at Rockhampton in July to three counts of supplying dangerous drugs, and one count each of trafficking dangerous drugs, possessing a thing used in connection with supplying a dangerous drug and possessing utensils or pipes that had been used.
Crown prosecutor Tiffany Lawrence said Bromilow trafficked methamphetamine, allegedly with another person, to pay off his own drug debt for four months between January 11 and May 10, 2021, in Gladstone.
Police executed a search warrant at Bromilow’s house on August 5, 2021, and found a mobile phone he had used to arrange the later drug supplies, as well as numerous clip-seal bags, digital scales, calibration weights, a used glass pipe and a clip-seal bag containing a clear crystal substance that was later identified as pool salt.
Ms Lawrence said Bromilow was on parole when he committed the latter drug offences.
Defence barrister Julie Marsden said her client was a heavy drug user at the time of the offending and that he engaged in drug trafficking to pay his drug debts.
Chief Justice Helen Bowskill sentenced Bromilow to 4.5 years’ prison, 354 days pre-sentence custody was declared, and parole eligibility set for December 4, 2022.
DARREN STEVEN BURNELL: ROCKHAMPTON
Drug trafficker Darren Steven Burnell was sentenced to five years in prison, suspended after serving two years and operational for five years after he appeared in the Supreme Court in Rockhampton in May.
The court heard the 42-year-old was found with $45,560 between November 2020 and February 2021.
A police search of Burnell’s car on January 8 found $15,000 of drug proceeds, 423g of marijuana, three knives, a tick sheet, clip seal bags, scales and a taser.
In February, he was found with $25,560 cash and drugs in his backpack along with a round of ammunition, a glass pipe, a mobile phone, two knives and 36.530g of substance containing 18.732g of pure meth.
He tried to flee police on a motorcycle but crashed into a car, before trying to outrun officers who tackled him.
A police search of his house also found 1.379g of meth along with mobile phones, four glass pipes and three sets of digital scales.
His trafficking business ran for 2.5 months with 24 customers identified and evidence of 34 sales supplying 51.85g and accumulated $22,600 of debts owed by his customers.
The court also heard Burnell offered a relative $10,000 cash, a car and drugs to take the fall for him over 23.45g of meth and 1g of cocaine found in his car.
He pleaded guilty on May 18 to one count of trafficking dangerous drugs, three counts of possessing a dangerous drug in excess of 2g, three counts of possessing a dangerous drug, two charges of possessing utensils, two charges of possession of a knife in a public place, one charge of possess utensils or pipes that had been used, one charge of assault police officer and one charge of obstructing police officer.
Justice Davis declared 470 days presentence custody as time served.
WAYNE BEVON WILLIAM BURNELL: ROCKHAMPTON
Wayne Bevon William Burnell was jailed in February for his role in a drug trafficking business including carrying out drug debt enforcements.
Burnell, 38, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court in Rockhampton to one count of trafficking a dangerous drug, and one each of possessing a dangerous drug, possessing drug utensils, failing to properly dispose of a syringe and possessing anything used in the commission of a crime.
Justice Graeme Crow sentenced Burnell to three years in prison and declared 386 days presentence custody with parole release in April.
The court heard Burnell, a father of seven, assisted in an alleged methamphetamines and marijuana trafficking business for 2.5 months of the six-month operation period.
The court heard Burnell had a history of violence and had helped carry out brutal drug debt collections. His criminal record showed a conviction for an assault occasioning bodily harm after a shovel attack on a neighbour in 2011.
He was charged after police intercepted communications involving drug trafficking of meth and marijuana in Central Queensland and a search of Burnell’s Depot Hill residence in February 2021.
The court heard Burnell arranged the sale of 0.3g of meth for $300; 3.5g for $400; 7g for $1800; and requested 900g of marijuana to make a $100 profit.
The court also heard he was injecting 0.2g of meth a day at the time of his arrest.
NICHOLAS BLAINE CAREY; BEAU ANTHONY GRAHAM: ROCKHAMPTON
Meth traffickers Nicholas Blaine Carey, 30, and Beau Anthony Graham, 27, left their stashes at drop points along rural roads in Parkhurst and near Lioness Park at Lammermoor, south of Yeppoon.
The kingpin of the meth-trafficking ring, Carey, and his co-accused Graham, both pleaded guilty to one count each of trafficking dangerous drugs and one of contravening police direction to provide access to electronic devices in the Rockhampton Supreme Court in February.
Graham also pleaded guilty to one count of possessing property used in the commission of a crime (two mobile phones) and one of possessing drug utensils.
Carey and Graham, along with an alleged third co-offender, trafficked drugs between January 1, 2019 and February 20, 2020 in the Rockhampton and Yeppoon areas.
Justice Graeme Crow said the trio used drug revenue to purchase vehicles including a mechanical digger and a Mercedes, place money in investment accounts, invested in family businesses, transferred money to an international bank account and spent thousands on international holidays to Thailand and Vietnam.
The court heard the largest transaction was when Carey purchased 5kg for $500,000, paying $250,000 upfront.
The court heard at the time of Graham’s arrest, he was using 1.5g of meth per day.
However, since his release on bail, after serving 40 days presentence custody, Graham had paid about $10,000 over two years for 97 drug test results, which were all negative.
Carey’s trafficking breached a suspended sentence handed down in Rockhampton Magistrates Court in August 2017 for three counts of supplying drugs, one of producing and one of possessing drugs.
His suspended sentence of six months in prison was activated by Justice Crow who ordered it be served concurrently with his trafficking sentence of nine years and nine months in prison with 736 days presentence custody declared as time served and parole eligibility set for May 18, 2023.
Justice Crow sentenced Graham to 9.5 years prison, declared 41 days presentence custody as time served and set parole eligibility at February 23, 2025.
JORDEN LEE BRENT CHAPMAN: AYR
Jorden Lee Brent Chapman was sentenced to 12 months’ jail in August after pleading guilty to 11 counts of supplying methylamphetamine.
Chapman, 25, wiped away tears as Judge John Coker handed down his sentence, which was wholly suspended for two years, in Townsville District Court.
Chapman had previously dodged a conviction for supplying drugs back in 2018 – but took up dealing meth again in 2020.
The court heard on August 5, 2020 police searched Chapman’s Ayr home which he shared with his mother, where they found a small amount of meth, a notebook with recorded drug sales, and a mobile phone.
A forensic download of the phone revealed Chapman had sold meth to seven people over an “intensive” supply period of a month.
The court heard in one text exchange, a woman told Chapman her drug purchase would have to be “subtle” because she had a child with her.
Defence barrister Kelly Stone asked Judge Coker not to sentence Chapman to actual jail time, saying he had made positive changes to his life after the death of his mother and nephew in a traffic crash.
In sentencing, Mr Coker said despite Chapman’s own experience, he had still peddled the drug to members of the community to support his own addiction.
Convictions were recorded and Chapman will be on probation for two years.
SKYE ASHLEY CHORLEY: LOGAN
A pregnant Logan mother pleaded guilty to more than 20 charges, including eight counts of supplying dangerous drugs, four counts of stealing and one of driving with a relevant drug present when she appeared in Beenleigh District Court in April.
Skye Ashley Chorley, 28, of Flagstone, was sentenced to 18 months’ probation and disqualified from driving for nine months.
The court heard police from the Jimboomba criminal investigations branch commenced an operation targeting drug offenders in May 2020.
They seized a number of devices from primary targets which identified Chorley as a person of interest and executed a warrant at her residence in Beaudesert on July 6, 2020. Police seized her phone and found a number of messages about the supply of dangerous drugs.
The court heard the messages show she offered to facilitate the supply of 1.7g of methamphetamine, and another shows an act preparing to supply 1.75g of methamphetamine, another for 0.1g of methamphetamine and one for the facilitation of 0.4g of methamphetamine.
The court heard police had also found text messages on a man’s phone that revealed conversations where Chorley offered to supply him cannabis on two occasions, April 27, 2020, and June 16, 2020.
ZOIE-JANE COLLINS: GLADSTONE
Young mum Zoie-Jane Collins was sentenced to 12 months’ prison, wholly suspended, after she pleaded guilty to seven counts of supplying drugs and one of possessing an item used in drug supplies in Rockhampton District Court on November 30.
Collins, 27, was intercepted driving on Roseberry St, Gladstone, on May 7, 2021, with police finding 5.4g of methamphetamines in her possession along with a mobile phone containing messages about the seven drug supplies.
Judge Jeff Clarke said Collins lied to police, telling them “a false story” about why a male was in the car with her and her two children while she drove around Gladstone in a suspicious manner.
He said she also lied when her phone was seized and she told police the supplies on her phone had not eventuated.
Defence barrister Scott Moon said his client, who has two daughters now aged six and four years old, was using drugs before her daughter fell in a fire pit and sustained burns to 80 per cent of her body, requiring her to be hospitalised in Brisbane for three months in April 2019.
He said Collins claimed her drug use was exacerbated due to the stress of that incident.
BENJAMAN JOHN MOORE DAVIES: TOOWOOMBA
Benjaman John Moore Davies was jailed for trafficking street-level, wholesale amounts of methylamphetamine just months after being released on parole for similar offences.
The Toowoomba man and drug addict was caught dealing wholesale quantities of methylamphetamine while on parole for similar offences.
Between August and September 2020, Davies and a co-offender, trafficked quantities between 0.1g and 28g to eight customers, the Supreme Court in Toowoomba was told.
The 35-year-old sourced the drug from Toowoomba, Ipswich and Warwick in quantities as large as an ounce at a time.
Crown prosecutor Philip McCarthy QC told the court Davies was a “recidivist offender” with a significant criminal history and in May 2020 he had been released on parole for similar offending before engaging in the five-week trafficking period.
Davies pleaded guilty to trafficking in dangerous drugs, and two unrelated charges of supplying a dangerous drug.
Davies’ barrister Frank Martin told the court his client was a qualified chef and had been working in the prison kitchen since he was taken into custody.
Justice Martin Burns sentenced Davies to four years’ jail, but with some of the 615 days of pre-sentence custody recognised as time served and set a parole eligibility date of December 2, 2022.
JAYDE ANN DAWSON: CAIRNS
Jayde Ann Dawson, 35, was jailed after she trafficked methylamphetamine while pregnant and on bail for other drug charges.
She pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in the Cairns Supreme Court when arraigned in March this year, and was sentenced in July.
Crown prosecutor Christian Peters told the court Dawson trafficked street-level quantities of the drug from late January to March 2020, and from June to September 2020.
Mr Peters said text messages on her phone showed she sourced methylamphetamine in large amounts from at least eight different suppliers, breaking it down into smaller quantities and selling to her customer base of at least 35 people.
Defence barrister Tim Grau said Dawson’s drug usage stopped while she was pregnant with her fifth child but trafficked among her group of friends.
Justice Jim Henry sentenced her to two-and-a-half years imprisonment with a parole release date after six months.
OWEN JAMES DENNING: SUNSHINE COAST
A Sunshine Coast father-and-son duo responsible for a booming meth trade across Maroochydore and Gympie raked in nearly $30,000 over the course of four months.
Owen James Denning, 62, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years’ jail in the Brisbane Supreme Court in May for his role in dealing meth and collecting drug money for his son Sean Denning, 41, between October, 2019 and February, 2020.
The court heard Owen Denning, a 62-year-old fuel worker, teamed up with his son to follow up and collect drug debts while simultaneously dealing meth to customers.
He also allowed his son to use his bank account to collect the proceeds of his drug trafficking business. Court documents showed there were 51 drug sales between October 6, 2019 and January 31, 2020 which amounted to $28,350 while Denning collected drug money at least 11 times for his son.
The family affair came to a grinding halt on January 11, 2020 according to court documents, after a raid on their home exposed the meth business with phones seized.
Owen Denning pleaded guilty to four counts of supplying drugs and receiving money from drug trafficking and was sentenced to three-and-a-half years’ jail, suspended for three-and-a-half years. Judge Jack Kelly recorded a conviction.
Sean Denning pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in dangerous drugs and one count of possessing a thing used in connection with trafficking in a dangerous drug.
He was sentenced to six years imprisonment for the trafficking count and convicted and not further punished in respect of the remaining count.
It was ordered that the sentence of imprisonment be served cumulatively on an effective head sentence of five years, six months imposed on March 23, 2017. It was further ordered that the applicant be eligible for parole in April 2024.
KYLE JAMES FIELD: ROCKHAMPTON
Kyle James Field, 27, was sentenced for his role in a Rockhampton meth trafficking syndicate in March.
The Supreme Court in Rockhampton heard Field was the main drug runner of the Central Queensland methamphetamine syndicate but he had no criminal record before participating in the multimillion-dollar illegal enterprise.
Field pleaded guilty on March 7 in the Supreme Court in Rockhampton to one count of trafficking a dangerous drug, one of possessing drug utensils and one of possessing cash suspected to be tainted property.
Field was the third of three men in the syndicate to be jailed this year. The kingpin, Nicholas Blaine Carey, 30, and Beau Anthony Graham, 27, were sentenced on February 24.
Carey and Graham pleaded guilty to trafficking drugs between January 1, 2019 and February 20, 2020 in the Rockhampton and Yeppoon areas.
Field’s trafficking of drugs took place between May 14, 2019 and February 20, 2020.
When police searched Field’s bedroom at a Forbes Ave, Frenchville, residence in February 2020, they found $4190 cash under the bed, along with digital scales, tick sheet, clip seal bags and a magnetic box.
Justice Graeme Crow said it was a very large wholesale commercial meth enterprise with police tracking the trio’s movements, which included Carey sourcing the meth and storing it in the vicinity of Lioness Park, Lammermoor.
Justice Crow said Field was the main drug runner
The court heard Field had been remanded in custody for 6.5 months before sentencing.
Justice Crow sentenced Field to eight years’ prison with parole eligibility on November 6, 2023.
VANESSA EILEEN FIELDER; ALBERT THOMAS O’NEILL; ELECTRA TRACEY KNIGHT: ROCKHAMPTON
Vanessa Eileen Fielder, Albert Thomas O’Neill and Electra Tracey Knight were sentenced in the Supreme Court in Rockhampton in May for their roles in a drug trafficking enterprise.
Knight, 37, pleaded guilty to seven counts of supplying a dangerous drug, one of possessing more than 2g of a dangerous drug and one of possessing Australian currency reasonably suspected to be tainted property.
Fielder, 35, and her partner O’Neill, 31, both pleaded guilty to one count of drug trafficking, with the court hearing Fielder started trafficking before O’Neill became involved.
O’Neill also pleaded guilty to one count of possessing property reasonably suspected to be tainted property, one of possessing a mobile phone used in the commission of a drug crime and one count of possessing drug utensils.
The court heard the trafficking operation ran from March 5, 2020 to June 13, 2020 with Knight supplying drugs seven times during that period in Norman Gardens and O’Neill starting his role in the business on May 8, 2020.
Crown prosecutor Maryam Yousufzai said Fielder directed Knight to carry out the supplies.
Police searched the residences of the three in June 2020 with $1225 found in Fielder’s wallet which was in her handbag where a record of debt for $23,750 was located.
Police also located 2.229g of pure methamphetamine at Knight’s residence, along with $65,620 cash in a safe.
Police also said there were two $50 notes given by an undercover police officer when he purchased meth from a man who had sourced drugs from O’Neill.
O’Neill’s defence barrister Phil Hardcastle said his client was in a relationship with Fielder and they had a 12-month-old son together.
Justice Peter Davis sentenced Knight to 12 months’ prison with immediate parole.
He sentenced O’Neill to three years’ prison, declared one day presentence custody as time served and set parole release on May 16, 2023.
Justice Davis sentenced Fielder to four years’ prison, suspended after serving 15 months and operational for four years.
THOMAS LEONARD PETER FINES-FROST: CAIRNS
Thomas Leonard Peter Fines-Frost was a part of Gregory Peter Betts’ trafficking ring.
Fines-Frost, 27, posted packages of methylamphetamine to Cairns, selling quantities from half an ounce to six ounces.
Fines-Frost pleaded guilty to trafficking over a seven-month period between November 2019 and August 2020 in the Cairns Supreme Court in March and was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years’ imprisonment.
He will be eligible for parole on September 28, 2024.
The court heard Fines-Frost would use encrypted messaging apps like Wickr and had four different usernames, customers would sometimes post money to him or he would have them deposit money into his account.
In total, Fines-Frost received $255,341 in deposits, with about $100,000 of that passing through an account of a housemate in Victoria.
Justice Jim Henry said it was a significant volume of wholesale methylamphetamine that was being pumped into the Cairns community.
VERN FITZGERALD: LOCKYER VALLEY
Lockyer Valley man Vern Fitzgerald, described in court as a “high-level street dealer”, was jailed for four-and-a-half years for trafficking meth in May.
Despite being on Centrelink benefits, Fitzgerald, 39, had at least $45,000 placed into his bank accounts between March and May last year, the Supreme Court in Toowoomba heard.
The court heard that was a gross figure and didn’t account for cash sales.
Crown prosecutor Philip McCarthy said police who searched Fitzgerald’s Blenheim property in May last year found he had cameras and motion detectors which were linked to a monitor in his bedroom. Police found 27.629g of meth in the kitchen and 41 Buprenorphine strips.
Fitzgerald, described by Mr McCarthy as a “high level street dealer”, had a customer base of at least 40 people and he sourced drugs mainly from a supplier in Brisbane who he visited several times a week, he said.
His offending had only stopped upon his arrest, Mr McCarthy said.
Fitzgerald, who had spent exactly one year in custody since his arrest, pleaded guilty to trafficking and possessing dangerous drugs.
Justice Martin Burns sentenced Fitzgerald to four-and-a-half years in jail but declared the 365 days he had spent in presentence custody as time served under the sentence, and ordered the term be suspended after he had served another six months to be released on parole on November 25, 2022.
MATTHEW MICHAEL GOULD: GLADSTONE
A father, who fell back into using drugs following the breakdown of his marriage, was caught by police in Gladstone before he intended to supply another person with methamphetamine.
Matthew Michael Gould, 28, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court in Rockhampton in July to one count each of possessing a dangerous drug in excess of 2g, supplying dangerous drugs, possessing utensils or pipes that had been used, possessing anything used in the commission of crime and possessing property suspected of being the proceeds of an offence under drugs misuse act.
Crown prosecutor Millie Volck said Gould possessed 17.76g of meth, which was found when he was searched by police in August 2021.
Gould told police he was stopping over in Gladstone for somewhere to sleep on his way to Brisbane and appeared to be “fidgety and shaky”.
In addition to the meth, Ms Volck said police also found a glass pipe, $9270 worth of cash and a mobile phone used to supply dangerous drugs.
She said Gould was intercepted before the supply could occur and that messages on the phone revealed he intended to supply meth to an unknown person.
She argued the meth was possessed for a commercial purpose.
Defence barrister Maree Wiley said her client, who had two children and was a qualified tradesman, had abstained from drug use for a couple of years after his release from custody in 2019, where he served 37 days behind bars.
The court heard Gould’s marriage had ended in 2021 and he turned to drugs
Justice Graeme Crow sentenced Gould to three years’ prison with 339 days declared as time served and parole release on August 23.
The drug paraphernalia and other items were forfeited to the Crown.
JYE HOLT
Central Queensland rodeo clown Jye Holt was jailed in August after pleading guilty to 10 counts of supplying a dangerous drug and one of possessing a thing used in a drug crime.
Rockhampton District Court was told he was arrested after being the target of a police drug distribution operation.
Crown prosecutor Alana Murray said Holt’s telecommunications were intercepted and the data showed he supplied methamphetamines on seven occasions and marijuana at least once.
Police searched Holt’s Thangool residence on September 28, 2020, and his phone was seized.
Defence barrister Joseph Jacobs said Holt, 41, a father of four, had lost his job due to his drug use and was selling drugs to pay for his own addiction.
Judge Jeff Clarke sentenced Holt to 21 months’ prison, suspended the sentence after 122 days served, declared 122 days presentence custody as time served and set an operational period of two years.
EMMA CLAIRE JOWSEY: MACKAY
Out-of-work Central Queensland mum Emma Claire Jowsey, 38, was sentenced to three years’ jail with immediate parole for trafficking methamphetamines in Mackay.
Jowsey was sentenced in Rockhampton Supreme Court in September 2022, via video link from custody, after she pleaded guilty to 15 drug-related charges, including trafficking and possessing methamphetamine in excess of 2g.
The court heard that Jowsey trafficked in “street level” quantities of methamphetamine between October 5 and 29, 2020.
Justice Graeme Crow said Jowsey used digital scales, clip-seal bags, and postage package slips to transport the drugs between her property and others.
He said Jowsey kept handwritten notes and tick sheets containing “names and monetary quantities of methamphetamine” to assist her with carrying out her trafficking business.
Police also located $4600, divided into five bundles, within a white pencil case.
Justice Crow said Jowsey had admitted to also giving cannabis to her friends.
The court heard that during a police search of Jowsey’s residence, officers found about 138g of cannabis and cannabis seeds.
They also found white substances, yellow substances and crystal substances which were all tested and confirmed as drugs.
The substances contained drugs including meth and synthetic cannabis. The court also heard that in January, Jowsey pleaded guilty to disqualified driving, attaching false plates, possessing property suspected of being stolen, possessing tainted property and breaching bail.
Justice Crow noted that Jowsey was “at the bottom of the (drug) supply chain” and her profits were used to pay for her own drugs and to support her and her son.
Justice Crow noted that she had already spent 439 days in pre-sentence custody.
BRADLEY LANKESTER: TOOWOOMBA
Leaving home at 18 to live the independent life soon descended into drug use for a Toowoomba man jailed in May for six years for trafficking and possessing meth.
Bradley Lankester had a structured upbringing, but he left school after Year 8 due to “severe bullying” and was home schooled for Years 9 and 10, his barrister David Jones told the Supreme Court in Toowoomba in May.
He completed three-and-a-half years of a four-year painting apprenticeship but left home when turning 18, the court heard.
Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald said police had searched Lankester’s home in January 2021 and found 26g of substance of which 16.5g was pure meth, a growing cannabis plant and $5000 cash.
Ms Friedewald said it was accepted Lankester’s trafficking was at street level and that he had been dealing drugs to support his own addiction.
Released on bail, police found Lankester sitting in a car with another man in Withcott in April 2021, she said. During a search of the car, police found 53g of substance of which 40.9g was pure meth.
Lankester, 26, who had spent the ensuing 14 months in custody, pleaded guilty to trafficking, producing and possessing dangerous drugs.
Justice Martin Burns noted Lankester’s efforts to rehabilitate while in jail and sentenced him to six years in jail. He declared the 420 days of presentence custody as time already served and ordered he be eligible to apply for parole on December 2, 2022.
LUKAS ASKEW LITYNSKI: MACKAY
A Mackay meth trafficker who armed himself with a gun to collect a drug debt has been jailed for a raft of offences including peddling ice and cocaine.
Lukas Askew Litynski spent nearly six of the past seven years in jail as the 26-year-old went from a teen with an ice addiction to recidivist offender.
Mackay Supreme Court heard in March of his latest crime spree, the majority of the 17 charges occurred between January and February 2020 when he was trafficking meth for about six weeks and all while he was on parole.
Litynski pleaded guilty to 17 charges including trafficking and supplying drugs including meth, cocaine and steroids, and aggravated drug possession of meth.
The court heard one of the most concerning aspects of his offending occurred in February 2020 when he obtained a firearm to collect an outstanding drug debt.
Litynski was also busted with 18.555g of pure meth in 27.106g of substance and $8240 in cash of unsourced income suspected of being drug sale proceeds.
Justice David North found a three-year jail term would not properly reflect the seriousness of the offending and jailed Litynski for 4.5 years with parole eligibility after 18 months, which was deemed time already served.
He could apply for parole immediately.
JESSIE WAYNE LUCAS: TOWNSVILLE
Townsville drug dealer Jessie Wayne Lucas was jailed in August for trafficking meth after being busted for selling “wholesale” amounts of the drug and with $7000 stuffed down his underwear.
Police caught up with Lucas after analysing text messages between him and another prominent Townsville dealer, who was a “significant customer”.
Townsville Supreme Court heard more than 40g of “high quality” meth was found on his bedside table during a search of Lucas’ Kelso home in August 2019.
Officers then found $7000 stuffed down his underpants, and $830 in his wallet.
Lucas pleaded guilty to charges including trafficking in dangerous drugs, and possessing property suspected of having been acquired for the purpose of committing a drug offence.
The court heard in a six-week period from July to August of that year, Lucas brought in more than $250,000. The court also heard Lucas sold 840g of meth and 2.8kg of marijuana in that time, and had bragged that he only did the “big stuff”.
Intercepted communications revealed 35 customers with at least seven onselling.
Lucas went as far as accepting jewellery and laptops as payment, and even threatened violence to a customer who had failed to pay up.
Lucas was sentenced to 10 years’ behind bars, of which he must serve 80 per cent before he can be eligible for parole with 394 days of pre-sentence custody taken as time already served.
REECE WILLIAM LUSCOMBE: MACKAY
Reece William Luscombe was jailed for nine years in March with convictions recorded after he pleaded guilty to trafficking meth, aggravated drug possession, possessing cash, category H weapons and drug-related items.
Mackay Supreme Court court heard much of the trafficking occurred while Luscombe was on parole for a prior trafficking offence.
The court also heard Luscombe was in control of more than 1kg of pure methylamphetamines when he trafficked drugs for six months between 2019 and 2020.
When police busted the door of the Rural View father’s home in late March 2020 as part of operation Romeo Suitcase, detectives seized $108,620 in cash, 185g of pure meth, weapons and a luxury car.
The drugs had a street value between $38,000 and $44,000.
The court also heard that Luscombe, 32 at the time of sentencing, took a Maserati car in lieu of a drug debt. He also stashed 1.438kg of substance containing 861.29g of pure ice at a mate’s house. The street value was between $172,500 and $198,000.
He will be eligible for parole on August 15, 2023.
LAUREN LINDA MADDIGAN: CAIRNS
Lauren Linda Maddigan, 38, a former social worker, said she formed an addiction that eventually led her to become a drug trafficker after she was forced illicit drugs in her sleep.
She pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking methylamphetamine between July 3 and September 1, 2020, as well as one count of possessing methylamphetamine, cannabis and diazepam in Cairns District Court in March.
“The appalling treatment you endured would occasion sympathy in the mind of any right thinking person but I do not lose sight of the reality that you did not, in fact, commit the offending during that era, rather you committed subsequently,” Justice Jim Henry said.
Justice Henry sentenced Maddigan to three years’ imprisonment with a parole date of August 24, 2022 after she had already spent 97 days in pre-sentence custody.
CONNOR HAMILTON MCLEOD: CAIRNS
Connor Hamilton McLeod, 27, was talked into selling drugs after he ordered a limited amount of pills and received about 250g of MDMA, the Supreme Court in Cairns heard.
He pleaded guilty to one count of possessing dangerous drugs and one count of trafficking dangerous drugs in October.
Crown prosecutor Seamus McManus said police found 121 clip seal bags holding one capsule each of MDMA, 29 clip seal bags with MDMA in crystal form, 200 empty clip seal bags, and a compressed block of MDMA weighing about 244g.
Defence barrister Martin Longhurst said his client ordered a limited amount of pills, then he received a quantity of about 250g of MDMA that he had discussed with the supplier.
“He was talked into the benefits of being able to sell the pills and retain some profit.”
Given his lack of prior criminal history and a psychiatric report, Justice Jim Henry sentenced McLeod to three years’ imprisonment with an immediate parole release date.
SHANE JOSEPH O’BRIEN
Emu Park resident Shane Joseph O’Brien, 38, who was busted carrying out supplies of methamphetamines and marijuana told police he was a middle man to stop others from being ripped off.
O’Brien pleaded guilty in Rockhampton District Court in October to eight counts of supplying dangerous drugs.
Crown prosecutor Claire Brtevnik said police searched O’Brien’s Emu Park residence on August 25, 2021, and seized a mobile phone which revealed the eight supplies which took place between July 23, 2021, and August 18, 2021.
She said O’Brien’s supplies were to five people, including five supplies of meth and three of marijuana. Ms Brtevnik said he initially denied the offending to police and then denied the supplies eventuated.
Defence barrister Julie Marsden said O’Brien had produced clean drug tests since November 2021 and was booked into a relapse prevention program with his partner.
Judge Jeff Clarke said O’Brien had been on three suspended sentences at the time of his offending and ordered all three be activated in full – a cumulation of four-months prison – to run concurrently with his supplies sentence of 15 months prison.
Judge Clarke ordered O’Brien be released immediately on parole.
JADE MAREE O’NEILL: TOOWOOMBA
A 32-year-old mother of two who trafficked meth in Toowoomba and supplied the drug to a dealer in Goondiwindi was jailed for four years in August.
Jade Maree O’Neill had trafficked meth mainly at the street level for three-and-a-half months between May 17, 2020, and September 4, 2020, Toowoomba Supreme Court heard in August.
She was detected through phone messages by police targeting another dealer in Toowoomba.
O’Neill’s offending came to a halt when police searched her Newtown home on September 3, 2020, after securing a warrant to monitor her phone, the court heard.
O’Neill pleaded guilty to trafficking meth and to failing to provide her PIN for her phone on police direction when arrested. Police described the drug operation as “persistent and intense”.
Justice Elizabeth Wilson sentenced O’Neill to four years in jail but ordered she be eligible to apply for release on parole after having served 12 months behind bars.
JOSHUA MARCUS POPE: LOGAN
Joshua Marcus Pope, from Yarrabilba, in Logan pleaded guilty in February to four counts of supplying dangerous drugs stemming from 2019.
The court heard Pope supplied methamphetamine to people in Eagleby on April 19 and 22 and in Marsden on April 23 and in Stafford on April 25.
The court heard Pope had an “atrocious” criminal history and had been almost continuously in and out of custody since 2009.
He was sentenced for the aggravated charge of supplying a dangerous drug in a correctional centre in the Brisbane Supreme Court in 2017.
He was sentenced in Beenleigh District Court to a period of imprisonment for 586 days, with the 586 days he spent in pre-sentence custody declared as time already served.
He was ordered an immediate parole release date for the offences. Convictions were recorded.
BARRY ROY RICHARDSON: ROCKHAMPTON
Rockhampton drug addict Barry Roy Richardson was sentenced to 21 months’ prison after pleading guilty to two counts of supplying a dangerous drug, along with one of illegally possessing explosives, two of possessing dangerous drugs, one of possessing anything used in a crime, one count of possessing property suspected the proceeds of drugs and one count of possessing property used in a drug crime.
Crown prosecutor Stephanie Barker told Rockhampton District Court in August that Richardson’s latest offending involved supplying 0.72g of pure meth in 1.678g of substance for $650 to an undercover police officer on May 7, 2020, and 0.731g of pure meth in 1.709g of substance for $700 to an undercover police officer on May 26, 2020.
She said police searched Richardson’s residence on July 7, 2020 and located scales, a mobile phone, 0.3g of MDMA, 0.4g methamphetamines, $525 cash and some ammunition.
Judge Jeff Clarke said prior sentences of prison terms had not deterred Richardson, 50, from reoffending and sentenced him to prison with parole release on February 6, 2023.
TRAVIS PETER RICHARDSON: TOOWOOMBA
Travis Peter Richardson was jailed for trafficking dangerous drugs and possessing methylamphetamine after appearing in the Supreme Court in Toowoomba in June.
The Toowoomba man received the sentence after a brief but intense period of trafficking methylamphetamine that was discovered after a large quantity of ice was found hidden in a hotel bathroom.
Police discovered Richardson at the room, as well as 2.345g of methylamphetamine, 1.5g of which was later found to be pure.
Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald said after he was arrested and taken to the Toowoomba watch house, the hotel manager called police to tell them he had found a toiletry bag hidden behind a panel in the room’s bathroom.
A number of items, including a mobile phone and 12.037g of methylamphetamine, of which 8.401g of which was pure, were found in the bag.
The court was told as a result of those offences, Richardson’s parole for another unrelated drug offence was cancelled, which saw him serve out the balance of the sentence, before he was granted Supreme Court bail on May 14, 2021.
Richardson went on to attend a Gold Coast rehabilitation facility for nearly six months before he absconded and failed to appear as required in court on February 21, 2022, where a warrant was issued for his arrest.
He pleaded guilty in June to trafficking dangerous drugs and two charges of possessing dangerous drugs, as well as a number of summary offences including unlawful possession of a weapon, possessing tainted property and possessing dangerous drugs arrising from his caravan park arrest.
Justice Martin Burns sentenced Richardson to three-and-a-half years’ jail with 112 days of presentence custody as time served, putting parole eligibility at December 2, 2022.
LUKE JOSEPH SALIBA: CANNONVALE
A man, busted with more than 1kg of methamphetamines at a Queensland tourist town apartment, told police the smaller amount in his possession was a mixture of sugar and nail polish, and he was going to sell it to scam a drug user.
Luke Joseph Saliba, 38, pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing more than 2g of a dangerous drug, and one of possessing an item used to commit a drug crime in the Supreme Court at Rockhampton in May.
Saliba was intercepted by police on July 9, 2020, at Cannonvale where police found him in possession of 2.29g of meth in 34.321g of substance.
Crown prosecutor Bianca Volling said Saliba told police he had mixed in nail polish remover to give it a chemical smell.
Police searched a motel apartment Saliba had booked at Airlie Beach and found 72.784g of pure meth in 1122.69g of substance.
About a month later, Saliba was busted with a further 49.061g of meth in 80.827g of substance on August 18, 2020, at Rockhampton.
Police also located a message on Saliba’s phone about an offer he made to supply 1.75g of meth for $1300.
Justice Peter Davis sentenced Saliba to three years’ prison, declared 186 days pre-sentence custody as time served and released Saliba on parole immediately.
LESLIE GORDON SHARP: TOWNSVILLE
North Queensland criminal Leslie Gordon Sharp was sentenced to 11 years in jail after pleading guilty in Townsville Supreme Court in November to five charges including two counts of possessing a dangerous drug, and one count of possessing currency obtained from the supply of dangerous drugs.
The court heard police found the car he was a passenger in at Home Hill in February 2020 had $1.9 million of meth stashed inside a spare tyre.
The court also heard of Sharp’s connection to a “gangland-style” shooting that rocked suburban Townsville.
In November 2019, months before the Home Hill drug bust, Sharp was sentenced on a single count of arson related to his involvement in the torching of a stolen red Mercedes-Benz.
Sharp was also convicted and sentenced to 17 years’ jail in 1999 for attempted murder, sexual assault, and deprivation of liberty in Queensland. He was released on parole in 2010, but later went on the run after breaching his probation orders.
He had served more than 1000 days in custody at the time of last month’s conviction.
GLENN RAYMOND SMITH: CAIRNS
Drug trafficker Glenn Raymond Smith will serve nine years in prison after his sentence was handed down in the Cairns Supreme Court in October.
Smith, 57, was charged with four counts of dangerous drug possession and one count each of drug trafficking, possessing anything used in connection with a crime and property suspected of being proceeds of an offence.
Smith was one of several men arrested in a Yorkeys Knob unit in January 2021 where police seized about 740g of cocaine, with a street value of about $225,000, along with about 340g of methylamphetamine, worth about $190,000, along with 28g of MDMA and a substantial amount of cash, some of which was hidden under a kitchen sink.
Defence barrister James Sheridan acknowledged his client was operating a wholesale drug trafficking operation.
JOSHUA THOMAS SMITH: BUNDABERG
Joshua Thomas Smith, 38, pleaded guilty in March to one count of trafficking drugs, one of possessing items obtained from trafficking, one of possessing a phone used in the trafficking business and one of possessing drugs.
The Supreme Court in Rockhampton heard Smith was a member of a drug syndicate from telephone intercepts carried out as part of Operation Romeo Cyber, launched in September 2019 which ran for 10 months.
During the closure of the operation, police executed a total of 20 search warrants in 14 days in Clermont, Moranbah, Dysart, Emerald, Capella and Bundaberg.
Police also seized, as part of the operation, 1.972kg of methamphetamine, 4.676kg of marijuana, five firearms, cash, a stolen motorcycle and a stolen all-terrain buggy.
The stolen motorbike, a Suzuki, was located in Smith’s possession.
Smith primarily supplied marijuana in the Clermont, Capella and Dysart areas, but also supplied meth six times and acted as a conduit between a dealer and his customers.
Crown prosecutor Harriet Hall-Pearce said Smith was involved in discussions about drug debt enforcement, but did not directly threaten any customers.
The court heard the threats included “getting a Glock out and taking him up bush”, stomping on someone’s head and stealing a go-kart as part of drug debt recovery.
Justice Graeme Crow sentenced Smith to three years in prison with parole release on March 9, 2023.
ANDREW WILLIAM TAYLOR: TOWNSVILLE
Townsville man Andrew William Taylor was jailed for nine years after he was caught with $700,000 of meth as he travelled between Brisbane and North Queensland.
He pleaded guilty to one count of possessing methamphetamine in an aggravated quantity greater than 200g in the Townsville Supreme Court in September.
A court previously heard Taylor, 32, was smoking up to 0.5g of meth per day in May 2020 at the height of the Covid pandemic when he was given an opportunity to buy a large quantity of high-quality meth for $200,000.
Police found $2380 in cash on Taylor and behind a plastic panel on the dashboard in a car, they discovered a cryovac bag with Taylor’s fingerprints on it, containing 382g of high purity meth, along with three mobile phones and $75 cash.
The street value for the drugs was estimated to be worth between $500,000 and $700,000.
A subsequent search of his house uncovered $2005 in cash, two sets of digital scales with crystal remnants, $600 in casino chips, and a fourth mobile phone.
Taylor was taken into custody, and successfully challenged the legality of the search in a court battle before the outcome was eventually overturned on appeal.
Justice David North noted the 877 days Taylor had served in custody and sentenced him to nine years-and-six months’ imprisonment with eligibility for parole on July 3, 2023.
SHARON MAREE THOMS: IPSWICH
Ipswich businesswoman Sharon Maree Thoms was jailed in February for dealing methamphetamine to fund her heroin addiction.
The Ipswich mother, with an extensive drug rap sheet, pleaded guilty to nine charges of supplying drugs and was sentenced to 18 months jail in Ipswich District Court.
The court heard the mother’s crimes came to light while police were investigating Thoms’ dealer and that the 55-year-old started using heroin in her 20s and struggled on and off with sobriety for most of her life
The court also heard Thoms was buying between 1.75g and 3.5g of methamphetamine a day to fund her daily addiction of 0.5g a day.
Judge Dennis Lynch QC told Thoms it would be wrong in principle to allow her hardships to get in the way of an appropriate penalty.
JADEEN JOY TURNER: TOWNSVILLE
A Townsville mother who had led a law-abiding life, kicked off her criminal history with a “bang” when she was caught trafficking meth.
Jadeen Joy Turner was 27 years old with no criminal history when she began selling cannabis and meth.
The now 30-year-old, pleaded guilty to 10 charges including trafficking dangerous drugs, possessing dangerous drugs and unlawful supply of weapons in Townsville Supreme Court in September.
Crown prosecutor Tom Hancock told the court that while Turner’s trafficking had only spanned two weeks from July 24 to August 11, 2019, she had sourced about 56g of meth for her business.
He said Turner sold meth to 18 customers in quantities from half a gram, 1.75g, and had made “inquiries” with a local dealer about sourcing an ounce of meth.
After intercepting phone messages, police searched her Hermit Park home.
A firearm was found wrapped in a roll of carpet in her bedroom.
More than $2000 cash as well as 2.037g meth, a “very small” amount of MDMA and 90g of cannabis was found at her home.
Justice David North said at 27, Turner had started her criminal history with a “bang”.
Defence barrister Harvey Walters said his client had used meth for a “short period” during a dysfunctional relationship – but no longer used drugs.
Justice North sentenced her to three-and-a-half years, but she must serve two-and-a-half years for the weapons charge – at which point the sentence would be suspended for four years.
JOSHUA JAMES VAN LAWICK: MACKAY
A Mackay drug dealer with a history of teenage meth use suffered assault and isolation while in prison but had a chance to begin again and get away from the drug that poisoned his life.
Joshua James Van Lawick, 29, was sent to jail in February after police busted him with 20.7g of pure meth at an Alligator Creek property.
Mackay Supreme Court heard in November that Van Lawick was sitting in a red Holden commodore at 2.45am when police raided the address.
He exited the vehicle and tried to throw away the car keys, telling the police he had thrown a knife away.
When the police found the keys and searched the car, they uncovered 36.5g of a substance later analysed to be 20.7g of pure meth and a smaller quantity of MDMA in a black bag on the passenger seat.
The police also found a pipe on Van Lawick, which he admitted he used to smoke the schedule 1 narcotic.
Van Lawick was taken to the Mackay watch house and spent 292 days in custody before his appearance in court via videolink on November 29.
The court heard Van Lawick was using meth daily when he was arrested in February and he was also involved in commercial meth supply.
Justice Graeme Crow sentenced him to three years’ jail, with parole release on December 2 after Van Lawick pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of dangerous drugs exceeding two grams, possession of property suspected to have been used in connection with a drug offence, possession of a pipe and possession of suspected tainted property.
Convictions were recorded.
ANDREW LEONARD ROBERT CARL VERNON: TEWANTIN
Andrew Leonard Robert Carl Vernon was sentenced to 12 months’ jail after pleading guilty to four counts of supplying drugs, two of possessing drugs, two of possessing anything for use in the commission of crime and two of unlawfully possessing a relevant substance.
Maroochydore District Court heard in May that Vernon had a “Breaking Bad-style”clandestine mobile lab which police discovered after he was found asleep in his car on a Maroochydore street in August 2020.
Public prosecutor Elle Bolam told the court a search of his car discovered 1.76g of pseudoephedrine, glassware, test tubes, beakers, jars and chemicals.
A forensic analysis after his arrest uncovered iodine, meth and red phosphorus.
The court was told Vernon offered to sell 3.5g of cocaine for $1000, another to offload ketamine and other offers on tick and to settle a debt.
Judge Glen Cash sentenced the 33-year-old to 12 months’ jail with immediate parole after 46 days of presentence custody.
Convictions were recorded.
JOHN DURHAM WILLEY: CAIRNS
John Durham Willey’s drug trafficking enterprise starting crumbling when his business partner Phillip William Walpole was caught in a police traffic intercept in May 2020, losing a pound of methylamphetamine and $2450 cash.
But the police intercept, did not stop Willey dealing.
Willey, 39, pleaded guilty to trafficking methylamphetamine and cannabis, and refusing to hand over the pin code to his mobile phone at Cairns Supreme Court in February 2022.
Both business partners’ phones were tapped by police during Operation Sierra Footrope from May 19, 2020.
On June 13, 2020, police overheard that his business partner, Walpole, was going to fly from Townsville to Brisbane. Walpole was arrested at Brisbane Airport with $84,100 cryo-vacced, on his person.
Walpole was sentenced in March 2022 to six years and six months’ imprisonment, with a parole eligibility date of December 20, 2022.
Even after the intervention by police, Willey continued trafficking and was arrested two months later on August 21, 2020.
The court heard Willey trafficked methylamphetamine across a five-month period in amounts from a point to a ball – 3.5g of meth.
While serving 546 days in pre-sentence custody, he had conducted himself productively, Justice Jim Henry said.
Willey received a head sentence of seven years, with a parole eligibility date of December 20, 2022.
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