Drug dealer accused banned from Richmond injecting room
Thousands of phone calls and CCTV evidence allegedly helped nab a Richmond health outreach worker, who has been charged with drug trafficking. It comes as the Richmond clinic’s CEO resigned, but Daniel Andrews says he’s still committed to the two-year trial.
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A worker linked to Richmond’s controversial injecting room has been banned from going within 50m of the facility as he faces drug trafficking charges.
Matthew Honey, 49, from Richmond, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court today for the first time since he was arrested and charged on Thursday.
Bail conditions outlined in court include a non-association clause with co-accused, and a 50m exclusion zone of North Richmond Community Health.
He also has to report to Richmond police station daily Monday to Friday.
Chia Van Truong, 43, and Thi Ngo, 51, from Burnside Heights, also faced court for a brief administrative hearing charged with trafficking, and conspiring to traffick, a drug of dependence, namely heroin, from September 5 to October 24.
Ms Truong, wearing a grey Tommy Hilfiger tracksuit, was hunched over holding her abdomen as she slowly hobbled into court with assistance by Mr Ngo.
The court heard she had recently had surgery and was in a lot of pain.
The pair, who will require a Vietnamese interpreter for future hearings, are both on bail in which they are forbidden from attending the suburb of Richmond, must report daily to Sunshine police station, and not associate with co-accused, apart from each other.
Jodie Keasey, 42, from Richmond, flipped her rude finger to the media as she left the court, where she is facing four charges: trafficking and conspiring to traffick heroin, possessing heroin, and dealing with proceeds of crime after she was found carrying $3675 cash.
Michael Tran, 35, from Richmond, is the only accused who has been remanded in custody and appeared in court via video link.
Their appearances came as Premier Daniel Andrews revealed North Richmond Community Health chief executive Demos Krouskos had resigned.
He was stood down from his post last week after revelations two outreach workers had been charged over alleged drug trafficking.
Mr Andrews said the government was committed to the two-year injecting room trial and would review its status in the middle of next year.
He said it was saving lives but that last week’s allegations were “deeply troubling”.
Detectives from Yarra CIU swooped on Thursday, arresting eight people in raids in Richmond and Burnside Heights, following a three-month investigation dubbed Operation Sievers.
Prosecutor Kristie Churchill told the court it was a “lengthy investigation” with evidence including CCTV and listening device material.
“There’s something like 6000 phone calls,” she said, adding they needed to be transcribed.
Barrister Rob Melasecca, for Mr Honey, successfully applied to vary his client’s bail to allow him to enter the exclusion zone to visit his doctor, by appointment only and with prior notification given to police.
“His doctor is next door to the medical facility,” Mr Melasecca said. “He’s been seeing that doctor for some time. He’s someone who is on the methadone program.”
Mr Honey is a community outreach worker who does not work directly in the injecting room but instead provides advice on harm reduction to local drug users.
He was last year named Alcohol and Other Drug Worker of the Year by the Yarra Drug and Health Forum, who on its website praised his efforts in saving the lives of many overdose victims.
“Matthew is a familiar and friendly face to the drug using community in north Richmond and this has proven over time with the level of trust and confidence shown to him by people who inject drugs,” the website said.
“This has been evident many times when people have chosen to contact Matthew when things have gone wrong, even though people know to call triple-0 in the event of an overdose, Matthew is still the first point of call for a lot of people.
“There have been countless times that Matthew has arrived at the scene of an overdose before the paramedics.
”As a first responder, Matthew has administered life saving naloxone on multiple occasions and there have been many times when he has responded without the advantage of naloxone which required him to provide rescue breathing until the ambulance arrived.”
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The YDFH said Mr Honey always responded “with professionalism and compassion that only a peer could“.
He did not comment as he left court.
He will remain on bail until his case returns on February 18.
Four co-accused are also expected to appear in court later today.