Woman sentenced after drone used to transport meth over Murray River near Echuca

A drug smuggling operation used a drone to fly meth over the Murray River near Echuca to NSW to avoid Covid border closures, a court has heard.

A woman in New South Wales has avoided jail over her role in a drug smuggling ring which used a drone to retrieve methamphetamine from Victoria and avoid Covid border lockdowns.

Brooke Dee Mott, 32 of Deniliquin, faced the New South Wales District Court on Monday for sentencing on a charge of knowingly taking part in the supply of a prohibited drug.

According to court documents, NSW Police set up a taskforce named Strike Force Collett in July 2020 to investigate the supply of drugs to Mott and her associates.

During a hard border lockdown between Victoria and New South Wales, the group travelled to Moama on September 3 while an associate, a Melbourne woman, drove to the Echuca area.

Mott was the only licenced driver in the car, supervising a co-offender who was on L-plates. She did not leave the vehicle during the transaction.

The conspirators flew a drone across the Murray River on which the Melbourne woman attached 336 grams of methamphetamine.

The drugs were later divided into smaller amounts and sold for profit.

Phone records later seized by police showed the group planning the shipment to avoid border detection and Mott’s involvement in seven small drug sales between August 28 and October 1.

She was arrested on February 22, 2021, initially denying she knew the journey to Moama was to retrieve drugs but later pleaded guilty.

Sentencing Mott, Judge Sean Grant found she had a “very limited” role in the offending and was involved only under instruction of a co-offender whom she was dating and living with.

He said her role was “less significant” because she remained in the car during the transaction and agreed with a defence submission that the conspirators could have found alternative travel without her.

“I accept that her involvement was more convenient than it was critically necessary,” Judge Grant said.

She was handed a two-year jail sentence to be served in the community by way of an intensive corrections order and will have to complete 250 hours of community work.