Former chef Cameron Davie pleads guilty to trafficking meth and ketamine at South Yarra home

An out-of-work chef with time to burn during lockdown turned to trafficking ecstasy and ketamine at his South Yarra home.

Cameron Davie pleaded guilty to drug trafficking. Facebook.

A former chef nabbed dealing ecstasy and ketamine after losing work during lockdown was caught with a notebook on how to traffick drugs.

Cameron Davie, 28, was sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday to an 18-month community correction order after pleading guilty to trafficking ecstasy and ketamine.

Davie and his co-offender Toby Longhurst were nabbed at their South Yarra Apartment on July 1, 2020.

Police searched the apartment and seized ketamine, more than 100 grams of orange ecstasy pills, Xanax, almost $10,000 cash, scales, a tick book titled ‘Tickles’, a fake driver’s licence and a notebook labelled ‘Let’s Explore’ from Davie’s bedroom.

Investigators also seized ecstasy, acid and $7860 cash from Longhurst’s bedroom.

Empty deal bags and drug paraphernalia were found in both rooms and in the loungeroom.

Both men were arrested and hauled away for questioning.

Davie, who also pleaded guilty to dealing with the proceeds of crime, confirmed police would have found ecstasy in his room.

Davie also claimed the cash was savings from his previous job and a Bitcoin investment that he had been “slowly dipping into it“.

The prosecution submitted Davie’s Let’s Explore notebook was a “menu” on how to run a drug dealing business.

The notebook included directives “don’t get high on own supply” and “secure all possible links”.

Tony Danos, for Davie, said his client got into drugs after working long hours as a chef.

“They would go out after work, started doing cocaine, which would lead to other things,” Mr Danos said.

“He (Davie) sees that as a gateway to drug use (which) created this lifestyle … he was getting extra (drugs) and selling to friends.”

Mr Danos said Davie was out of work due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“(This) gave him more time to do whatever … to do drugs and need money … which all comes to a huge grinding halt when the police arrive.”

Mr Danos submitted Davie gained employment at Health Insurance Comparison a week after his arrest.

Davie, who now earns $60,000 plus commission, has since moved addresses.

The defence also submitted Davie has remained drug and alcohol free but could not provide the court any evidence to support the claim.

Magistrate Timothy Gattuso said illicit drugs were a “problem”.

“That problem is spread when people traffick drugs for profit,” Magistrate Gattuso said.

“You were profiting by the sale and spread of that misery throughout the community and you were found with a substantial amount of money in your possession.”

Davie, who has no priors nor subsequent offending, was convicted, ordered to undertake assessment, treatment and testing for drug use and fined $5000.

Longhurst was convicted and fined $3000 after pleading guilty to drug trafficking at an earlier court hearing.

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