Tattooed dad Jack Lawford pleads guilty to trafficking GHB drugs via Australia Post parcel lockers
A tattooed Melbourne drifter dad has been exposed as a player in a drug syndicate which pushed GHB via AusPost parcel lockers.
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A vagabond dad with a whopping GHB addiction who admitted operating in a racket which peddled dangerous party drugs via Australia Post parcel lockers has been jailed.
Jack Lawford, 29, was sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday to a two-month jail term after pleading guilty to five charges including trafficking 1,4 butanediol.
Lawford, who originally faced 26 charges, operated as part of a “small drug syndicate” which imported bute via Australia Post parcel lockers, the court was told.
Investigators believed Lawford and his gang trafficked the bute – also known as GHB or Juice – throughout Melbourne.
The court heard Lawford, who marketed his drug as GHB, had a 60ml daily Juice habit.
Victoria Police Major Drug Squad detectives moved on Lawford and his syndicate after receiving a tip-off from federal authorities on April 29 this year.
Australian Border Force tipped off local cops after Australia Post detected 18 “suspicious” packages which contained a combined 18 litres of bute.
The court heard Aus Post alerted authorities after its dispatchers noticed a “high volume” of packages coming through parcel sorting stations.
Many of the suspicious parcels linked to Lawford were bound for a ‘Benjamin Grinter’ at a Port Melbourne address.
A further three packages bound for Grinter were seized by police.
Five more packages dispatched and redirected through Aus Post parcel lockers addressed to a Samuel Parker in Coburg North were also detected.
These packages had been redirected from Port Melbourne to Coburg North in June this year.
Investigators established the first drug consignment was collected on June 16 this year.
Lawford was captured on CCTV collecting the first consignment from a post office on June 16 this year.
Lawford and a syndicate member were also captured on CCTV collecting packages from a Port Melbourne parcel locker on June 20.
The pair later fled in a vehicle.
Lawford, who has links to Frankston and the southeast, was later nabbed driving while suspended through Reservoir on July 22 this year.
Investigators seized GHB hidden in various vessels including a Fireball bottle, a baby bottle and a maple syrup bottle.
Police also seized scales, deal bags and meth.
Lawford, who also pleaded guilty to drug possession, was arrested and remanded in custody.
The court heard Lawford, who was on bail at the time of his arrest, has priors for drug and deception offences.
Lawford, a father of three, was “living between addresses” at the time of the offending.
Magistrate Tara Hartnett said Lawford committed “pretty serious” offending.
“This is really serious …,” Magistrate Hartnett said.
“It happens (people with no prior history) go straight to the deep end … the lack of history doesn't mean he escapes a term of imprisonment …
“I’m not satisfied the time he has done is enough.”
Lawford, who appeared via videolink from custody, was convicted and placed on an 18-month community correction order.
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