Peter Schuts: Cranbourne drug dealer caught with cannabis, cash
A sheep shearer with bad knees says he had bags of cannabis for pain relief. But why this much? And why did he burn his phones?
South East
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A dope dealer tried to throw drug squad detectives off the scent by burning mobile phones and tick books in a shower, a court has heard.
But his plan failed as officers sniffed out nearly a kilo of cannabis and $6600 in cash hidden in his bedroom, his laundry and his pockets.
Peter Schuts also attempted to flush stolen bank cards down the toilet but that also backfired, with the plastic evidence found floating at the bottom of the bowl.
The 60-year-old Cranbourne West former sheep shearer has priors for trafficking marijuana and meth, and had only recently completed a community corrections order when he was caught with this crop.
Schuts pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, proceeds of crime, handling stolen goods and weapon possession charges.
The court heard just before 4am on March 27 this year the drug squad launched a raid on his Cranbourne West house.
Officers busted in and as they filed through the house Schuts locked the bedroom door.
Drug cops forced their way in and saw him setting fire to three mobile phones and some notebooks in the base of the shower in the ensuite bathroom.
Inside the bedroom there were bags and bags of cannabis, with more dope being stored in the laundry.
Detectives also found a CCTV hard drive, stolen number plates and knuckle dusters, and retrieved two nicked NAB bank cards from the toilet.
All up the cannabis weighed a total of 823g — more than three times the trafficable amount of 250g.
Also found was a bag of cash with $6600 inside.
Schuts’ defence lawyer said his client had a long work history as a sheep shearer before injuries started to take their toll and he turned to cannabis to medicate the pain.
He said while the quantity found was large, he intended to use all the marijuana to make cannabis oil for himself.
But Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge disputed that it was for personal use.
“Why then was he setting fire to books and mobile phones and attempting to flush cards down a toilet?” Mr Lethbridge said.
“And the $6600 was proceeds of crime.
“This is not someone using cannabis for pain relief.”
Schuts was jailed for 12 months with a non-parole period of six months, minus 35 days he has already served on remand.
