Jacob Houston of Lalor accused of dealing cannabis via Facebook
Police have raided a Lalor family home after they allegedly saw a young man dealing drugs out of it. They believe he’s been advertising his considerable crop on Facebook.
North
Don't miss out on the headlines from North. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A young Lalor man has been accused of using a fake Facebook profile to advertise drugs before selling them out of his mum’s house.
Police allegedly saw Jacob Houston dealing drugs to drivers who came to the Lalor home before they seized more than 102 grams of cannabis and $3500 cash from his bedroom.
The 23-year-old fronted Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court to apply for bail on Wednesday, May 6, having been held in custody since police raided his family home and arrested him early on May 4.
The court heard police were patrolling the main road where he lived on April 10 when they saw a Holden parked outside his address, facing the wrong direction about 11.50am.
They waited near the car and allegedly saw Houston come out of the house and walk towards the car.
Sen Constable Smyth said police believed Houston saw them and mouthed the word “sh*t” before going back inside.
He said the male driver of the Holden then went inside the house, staying for about a minute before driving off.
The court heard when police stopped him shortly after, he told them he had just bought “half a bag” for personal use.
The man allegedly told police the drugs had been advertised on a Facebook profile, named Jacob with another surname.
Sen Constable Smyth said police examined the profile and allegedly discovered Houston had used the profile to advertise cannabis for sale on March 19 and March 24.
He told the court 10 minutes before police saw the alleged drug deal on April 10, they had also seen Houston reaching into another car near his house, but they had lost the car before they could intercept the driver.
MORE: FAST FOOD LOVER’S NORTHERN SUBURBS CRIME SPREE
DOGS FIND ALLEGED DRUG DEALER IN RESERVOIR FRONT YARD
TEENAGE DRUG DEALER THREATENED WITH JAIL
The court heard police found 102.17 grams of cannabis separated between five ziplock bags when they raided his home three-and-a-half weeks later.
Sen Constable Smyth said Houston’s phone was found in his pocket when police arrested him, but he had refused to give his password to police, who were worried he would try to delete evidence of the alleged drug trafficking.
Houston’s lawyer said he would be unlikely to get a jail sentence for the alleged crime because he didn’t have any criminal history and was so young.
He said Houston would be vulnerable in prison and the matters would likely take a while to resolve because of delays being imposed by COVID-19.
Magistrate Michael McNamara agreed, bailing Houston to live with his sister in another suburb under a curfew.