Sofia Mammone: Mildura drug dealer jailed – again

A convicted Mildura drug trafficker lasted just three weeks out of jail before being caught by police doing the same thing.

A convicted Mildura drug trafficker has been thrown behind bars again – only three weeks after getting out.

Sofia Mammone, 29, appeared in Mildura Magistrates’ Court on April 19, when she was released from prison after serving time for trafficking and possessing methylamphetamine.

Once out Mammone started a community corrections order with conditions to receive drug and mental health treatment.

At the same court on Tuesday, Mammone pleaded guilty to new charges of trafficking and possessing methylamphetamine on May 10 – just three weeks after she left custody.

A police prosecutor told the court about 6pm that day, officers stopped a car that had just left Mammone’s address.

The court heard a small plastic zip lock bag with a thin red line containing methylamphetamine was found in the driver’s shirt pocket.

The driver was said to have told police he bought the meth from the woman at the address.

About 11pm a search was conducted of the property.

The court was told multiple clear zip lock bags with thin red lines were found, after which Mammone was arrested and taken to Mildura police station.

Police said they later recovered a bag containing methylamphetamine that Mammone had attempted to conceal in the back of the divisional van.

Mammone’s lawyer said the car driver told police it was a $50 transaction and Mammone had denied any payment had been made.

The lawyer said despite the “small transaction” on one day, Mammone had been trying to comply with her community corrections order and wanted to continue it.

Magistrate Michael Coghlan said it was disappointing Mammone had not taken the opportunity to change.

Mr Coghlan said the drug caused “heartbreak” in the community, including to Mammone’s mother, who was in court to support her, and the parents of those who buy drugs.

Mammone was sentenced to 37 days in prison, which included punishment for breaching her community corrections order.

The order and its treatment conditions were kept in place.

Mammone later made a bid for appeal bail.

She told the court she had been engaging with phone counselling and was “doing the best I could”, but due to pressures in her life suffered a relapse.

Mr Coghlan denied bail, saying Mammone was a risk of reoffending and he had previously made it clear to her that she was at a crossroads.

Mr Coghlan said Mammone now had four convictions for drug trafficking.

“I can’t trust you because there will be some other excuse,” Mr Coghlan said.

“I don’t think anything is going to stop you because you are going to continue to justify your behaviour.

“When you’ve got that mindset (that) you are the victim … clearly you are an unacceptable risk of reoffending because you will justify (reasons why).”

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