Richmond injecting room worker pleads guilty to trafficking heroin
Matthew Honey was meant to be encouraging drug users to get off the streets and use the Richmond safe-injecting room, but instead he would source drugs for his desperate clients. Now, as he faces jail time, the award-winning drug support worker has argued he was simply trying to help his mates.
Police & Courts
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An award-winning drug support worker from Richmond’s controversial injecting room dished out heroin to his clients — even taking them back to his home to share the drugs.
Matthew Honey, 50, was meant to be encouraging drug users to get off the streets and use the North Richmond Community Health centre to inject drugs safely.
But instead the community outreach worker would source drugs for his desperate clients, doing 108 deals on Richmond’s streets between September 5 and October 24 last year.
He fronted Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to trafficking heroin.
A second charge of conspiring with others to traffic the drug of dependence was dropped.
His lawyer Nadia Giorgianni told the court Honey should not face jail, but instead be placed on a community-based order.
She said this was not a case where he was profiting from the drug trade and that he was simply trying to help his mates.
“He buckled under pressure,” Ms Giorgianni said.
“They are all his friends and have been for many, many years. They are all people he knew before he commenced working there.
“When they were so desperate to purchase heroin some of them would sit there all day long hounding him. He found that part of the role particularly difficult.
“Sometimes he would succumb to their requests and purchase heroin for them, or for them to use together.”
Once the users had the drugs, she said some would take it away, others would use the facility, while “some of them would use it at Mr Honey’s home with them”.
She said Honey had been a drug addict for three decades and that the clinic knew of his drug history.
“The reason he was put in this role was because all of his friends were drug users,” she said.
“There were a lot of overdoses occurring in that area.
“These people didn’t want to use a safe injecting room. He was well trusted by the users. He was there to encourage the users to use the room safely.”
She conceded Honey — who was named Alcohol and Other Drug Worker of the Year in 2018 — used drugs while employed at the clinic, but never used the rooms himself to inject.
The father of two was arrested in October following a three-month undercover police sting, dubbed Operation Sievers.
His plea comes after he last month successfully argued his case should remain in the lower court where penalties are less.
Pushing for jail time, prosecutor Lachlan Cameron said it was serious offending that did not just involve Honey’s friends.
He said Honey dealt drugs to a covert officer who he had never met before.
Magistrate Keiran Gilligan said Honey’s offending was a “gross breach of trust”.
He will sentence him later this month.