Altona North chef Matthew Mallia sentenced after pleading guilty to possessing guns and drugs

An Altona North chef who turned to “hard drugs” to cope with kitchen life has been served up for cooking up a gun racket.

Mallia worked as a chef before his drug addiction took over his life,

A former chef who got into hard drugs to cope with the fast pace of a working kitchen has been caught with a large stash of guns and drugs.

Matthew Mallia, 27, was sentenced in the County Court on Monday to 13 months’ jail after pleading guilty to charges including possessing a trafficable quantity of firearms.

Mallia was nabbed with three guns, more than 100 rounds of ammunition, a homemade handgun and a huge stash of drugs in his bedroom after police raided his Altona North home in March last year.

Investigators found a .22 calibre rifle, a modified lever action shotgun, a gel blaster rifle and a homemade handgun in the bedroom of the Lush Crt home.

Police also uncovered multiple firearm parts and various ammunition rounds for the guns, meth, 780g of GHB, MDMA, speed and a range of prescription drugs.

The court heard other drugs and items were found in the room, which Mallia was not being held responsible for.

Mallia was on bail at the time.

The court heard Mallia had experienced a traumatic childhood and had begun using cannabis age 15.

Mallia served an apprenticeship chef at the Deer Park Club Bistro for almost four years before he worked as a chef at various venues.

During this time he was introduced to hard drugs by colleagues and began taking them regularly to cope with the stress of the kitchens, the court heard.

Judge Michael O’Connell noted drug addiction then “took over” Mallia’s life and his criminal history began in 2018.

It was heard Mallia had a four-year-old son he rarely saw and was not connected to any family.

Judge O’Connell said he had not considered that Mallia had intended to use the guns and that he had taken into account Mallia had been in prison during the difficult conditions imposed by COVID-19.

Mallia had already served 413 days’ jail when his sentence was handed down.

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