Wollert drug dealer Mitchell Henwood jailed after pleading guilty to meth trafficking charges

A fallen Melbourne suburban footballer has been punted for selling meth after the dealer was webbed in by an undercover cop.

A northern suburbs footballer was caught in a covert cop sting after the prolific meth dealer encountered an undercover cop.

Mitchell Henwood, 30, was sentenced in the County Court on Friday to a minimum 18-month jail term after pleading guilty to multiple meth trafficking charges.

Henwood, a convicted drug trafficker, landed on the police radar after cops spotted him at Thomastown just before 4am on August 13, 2021.

Police followed Henwood but the drug dealer sped away along Settlement Rd after spotting the cops on his tail.

Investigators tracked Henwood to Wollert where they found him and his passenger hiding in the front yard of a property.

Police also found a black Lacoste bumbag which contained meth, deal bags, digital scales and $4190.

Henwood, of Wollert, denied the bag was his and was released but forensics later linked the bag and its contents to the runaway drug dealer.

Henwood remained in the clear until he was approached by an undercover cop at the car park outside BWS at The Stables shopping centre Mill Park in May last year.

Henwood asked the cop what they had in their bumbag.

The cop said they were on their way to their dealer’s house so Henwood asked if they wanted a “new dealer”.

The cop said it depended on how much the drugs cost.

“Cheap for you my bro,” Henwood said.

Henwood told the cop it was “350 for a G” (gram of meth) and his gear was “good quality”.

Henwood then sold the cop two grams of meth for $650.

The cop grabbed Henwood’s number and the pair later conducted multiple drug deals which went down at several locations including Uni Hill Bundoora, a Thomastown pizzeria and Westfield Plenty Valley.

Henwood sold the cop and other undercover cops drug weights ranging from balls (3.5 grams), quarters (seven grams) and halfs (14 grams) for between $1000 and $3000.

The covert cop also discussed buying ounces from Henwood for $6500.

The sting was nearing its end after several undercover cops met Henwood at a Thomastown pub.

Henwood told his customers the pub car park was “too hot” so he met the police “around the corner” and sold them a “quarter” for $1800.

Investigators pulled the pin on Henwood and raided his Wollert home on July 14.

Police seized a mobile phone, scales, deal bags, testosterone, meth and cash.

Henwood, who peddled 77 grams of meth to police between May 2 and July 14, was arrested, charged and remanded in custody.

Henwood denied police access to his phone but investigators eventually got in and found messages related to drug trafficking.

Judge Michael Bourke said Henwood was handed a minimum nine-month jail term in April 2021 after pleading guilty to trafficking meth and bute.

Henwood was pinched in Greensborough with more than 50gm of meth and $32,000 cash on September 15, 2020.

Henwood was charged and bailed by police but went back to trafficking the very same day.

Police caught up with Henwood again on October 1, 2020 when he was nabbed with more meth, $1650 cash and 222g of 1,4-butanediol – a chemical liquid widely sold as deadly party drug GHB.

Henwood, who pleaded guilty to eight charges including deal with the proceeds of crime, was jailed for a maximum 18 months.

However, Henwood appealed the sentence in August 2021 and was released onto a 12-month community correction order.

Judge Bourke, who heard Henwood’s appeal, said today it was a “decision he (Henwood) may now regret”.

Henwood is well known in Melbourne’s north where he was a prolific suburban footballer.

Henwood, who spent 463 days on remand, was handed a 32-month maximum term.

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