Refrigerator mechanic Michael Plummer started trafficking to fund own drug habit

Police uncovered meth in the kitchen rangehood and more than $6000 cash in a pillowcase while searching a mechanic’s Tullamarine home.

A refrigeration mechanic turned to selling drugs to fund his own addiction when he lost his job due to the pandemic, a court has heard.

Michael Plummer, 31, appeared via video link from prison to plead guilty to eight charges — including trafficking a commercial quantity of methylamphetamine — in the County Court last week.

The court heard Plummer had been the subject of a drug trafficking investigation early last year and police intercepted him driving a red BMW coupe in Tullamarine about 2.40pm on April 8.

During a search they found two mobile phones, two fake driver’s licences, oxycodone and diazepam tablets, a black wallet containing just over $500 in cash and an access card to the Summer Inn Holiday Apartments at Essendon North.

In a black backpack stowed in the rear passenger footwell of the car they found a ziplock bag containing more than 7g of methylamphetamine with a purity of 86 per cent, more than 110g of butanediol and a ziplock bag containing heroin with 76 per cent purity.

About 3.30pm police executed a further search warrant at his Tullamarine home, where they found an array of drugs, cash and weapons.

Police uncovered a vacuum sealed bag with more than 57g of methylamphetamine with 85 per cent purity in one bedroom and four small zip lock bags with smaller amounts of the drug hidden in the kitchen rangehood.

A Mount Franklin water bottle with more than 32g of butanediol was found on the coffee table, with zip lock bags containing more than 8g of cannabis found on his bedside table and under his bed.

Michael Plummer has pleaded guilty to the offending

Police also found $6000 in cash in $50 notes stuffed into a pillowcase, the court heard.

Another mobile phone and three swords were also discovered at the property, as well as a cash counting machine, a heat-sealing machine, multiple heat seal bags and a CCTV system.

Later that night police descended on the Summer Inn Holiday Apartments at Keilor Road, where they found diazepam tablets, more than 110g of cannabis and cocaine.

They also found more fake driver’s licences, bank and Medicare cards, the bank details of numerous people, two capsicum pepper sprays, a set of electronic scales and another heat-sealing machine.

Plummer, who completed Year 12 VCAL at Essendon’s St Bernard’s College, has spent almost 500 days in prison.

The court was told Plummer — who has a criminal record and spent time in prison previously for an armed robbery — works as a refrigeration mechanic when not in custody but lost his job in October 2020 due to the pandemic.

“He relapsed into drug use and returned to the cycle of using, not having money to purchase and engaging in offending in order to fund it,” she said.

The court was told Plummer had starting using drugs when he was aged about 15 but developed a methylamphetamine and GHB dependency at 18.

His lawyer submitted there was no suggestion her client was part of a syndicate or “big trafficking operation” and the false licences were being made to exchange for drugs.

She added Plummer had pleaded guilty early, had a strong employment history, good family support and intended to enter a drug treatment program upon release from prison and submitted these factors could lead to him being sentenced to time served.

Plummer will receive his sentence this week.