How 19-year-old Luke Lewin’s drug empire came crashing down
From living with his parents in a seaside suburb to being caught with a myriad of drugs and cash, Luke Lewin was a Melbourne drug kingpin before police brought his operation to an end.
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A baby-faced teenager became a Melbourne drug kingpin just weeks after being freed on a community-based order for drug trafficking.
Luke Lewin was just 19, unemployed and living with his parents in the seaside suburb of Bonbeach when police uncovered his sophisticated drug dealing operation.
A search of his bedroom uncovered more than $20,000 in cash stashed in hidden compartments of his wardrobe, along with quantities of ketamine, methylamphetamine, cannabis, LSD, diazepam and morphine.
A stun gun, deal bags, two stolen Nixon watches valued at $679 each and seven boxed bottles of alcohol were also found during the raid on August 25 last year.
Police had a day earlier followed Lewin as he checked in with his Corrections officer in Frankston, before collecting a suitcase from his home and travelling to the city, where he rented a short stay apartment on Flinders St.
Investigators swooped on the apartment the next morning at 9.15am and arrested Lewin after finding a myriad of drugs including almost 1kg of MDMA, 126.8g of ketamine, 31.7g of methylamphetamine and 15.6g of cocaine.
Quantities of cannabis, testosterone, xanax and morphine were also uncovered, along with $20,000-plus in cash, a black laser pointer, and a pill capsule manufacturing tray.
At 10.30am, the subsequent search warrant was executed at his family home.
Lewin immediately claimed all the drugs were his, but later gave a “no comment” interview.
He has pleaded guilty to a raft of charges including trafficking a commercial quantity of MDMA, and multiple counts of trafficking and possessing drugs of dependence.
Sentencing him to three years jail, County Court Judge Gabriele Cannon said his offending was serious with drugs a scourge on the community.
“You admitted to trafficking four different substances,” Judge Cannon said. “Your conduct must be firmly denounced.”
Lewin’s moral culpality was made higher, she said, because he was on a Community Correction Order at the time for similar offending.
“Your decision to reoffend is breathtaking, quite frankly,” Judge Cannon said.
On July 10 last year, weeks before his arrest, Lewin was sentenced to a 12-month Community Correction Order (CCO) for drug trafficking, dealing with proceeds of crime and possessing a prohibited a weapon.
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But Judge Cannon accepted Lewin was still in the grip of a cocaine drug addiction and had drug debts to pay when placed on the CCO, and was in a much better state now.
“Since being remanded you’ve done all you can to rehabilitate,” she said, adding how Lewin had remarked that being in prison with older prisoners had helped him “to get your act together”.
She accepted Lewin, who was born in the UK and immigrated to Australia when he was nine, was remorseful for his offending.
Judge Cannon set a non-parole period of 18 months, meaning with 390 days of time already served, he could be freed in five months.
“It’s important you are closely supervised when returned to the community,” she said.
“You are capable of leading an offence-free life.”