County Court: Linus Kenelo and Marian Dawson have been found guilty of importing meth into Melbourne.

A young mum of two and a self-employed cleaner from Melbourne’s west landed themselves in court after a Mexican drug smuggling scam came unstuck.

Disability worker Marian Dawson received a three-year suspended sentence for attempting to import meth from Mexico into Melbourne.

A bumbling self-employed cleaner and a disability worker were thwarted by an Australia Post delivery driver sinking their grand scheme to import a trafficable amount of meth from Mexico.

Linus Kenelo, 43 and Marian Dawson, 34, both pleaded guilty in the County Court to the charge of attempting to possess a marketable quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug.

Kenelo received a sentence of four years and nine months, while Dawson received a suspended three-year sentence.

Kenelo, from Thornhill Park, is also a convicted rapist serving a nine-year sentence.

Dawson lives in Truganina with her mother and two young children and is employed as a disability support worker.

On 18 July 2022, Kenelo approached an Australia Post delivery driver and attempted to physically take possession of a consignment unlawfully imported from Mexico and addressed to “Nicole Jacobson”.

Kenelo unsuccessfully attempted to take the package from the Australia Post delivery driver.

On July 20, 2022, Dawson contacted Australia Post and held herself out to be the consignee “Nicole Jacobson”.

On both occasions, Dawson identified the consignment tracking number and attempted to redirect the parcel to Kenelo’s address.

Kenelo had tracked the parcel a total of 13 times before and after the attempted delivery, while both Dawson and Kenelo had made contact with one another before and after his attempt to recover the parcel.

On July 21, 2022, forensics deconstructed the parcel and found a white powder that tested positive for methamphetamine.

The amount of methamphetamine was 248g, with purity levels up to 91 per cent.

This is 90.5 times the marketable quantity.

On September 21, 2022, a search warrant was executed at Kenelo’s property in Thornhill Park where he was arrested.

A couple of months later, a search warrant was also executed at Dawson’s address on November 22, 2022 and she was arrested.

The methamphetamine seized was found to be highly pure.

Judge Fiona Todd said that there were a number of features that separated the pair and why they received different sentences.

She also noted that Kenelo’s chances of rehabilitation were “somewhat tempered” by his rape convictions.

Kenelo was convicted of four counts of rape to a total effective sentence of nine years’ imprisonment on March 20, 2023.

She also noted that Kenelo had a higher level of moral responsibility as the more senior of the pair, while Dawson was at “the lowest level of the process”.

Judge Todd said that Dawson had a wonderful chance of rehabilitation due to her lack of criminal history and long-term employment as a disability worker.

“I am imposing a sentence of imprisonment that allows you to perform it in the community.” Judge Todd said.

Dawson will have to complete 100 hours of community work throughout her sentence.

Kenelo also pleaded guilty to one summary offence of committing an indictable offence while on bail.

Kenelo was convicted on the summary charge and fined $400.