Alleged drug dealer Amy Lovatt has bail altered to go on Contiki trip

A magistrate has allowed an alleged drug dealer to go on an overseas Contiki tour while on bail, despite saying it made him “uncomfortable”.

A young alleged drug dealer has had her bail varied to allow her to go on a Contiki trip, despite her lawyer conceding it is “very serious offending”.

Amy Lovatt, 19, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of drug supply — one indictable and two small amounts — and dealing with crime proceeds.

She was granted bail on a $10,000 surety after her arrest on May 13 at Surry Hills, where police allege she had been caught supplying cocaine and in possession of $300 cash suspected to be gained from drug supply.

At Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court, her lawyer applied for a bail variation to allow her to go on an overseas trip with the Contiki Tours Travel company.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Theo Tsavdaridis asked: “In essence, she wants to go on a Contiki trip?”

Alleged drug dealer Amy Lovatt (l) has been allowed to go on a Contiki tour.

Lovatt’s lawyer acknowledged it was “very serious offending” but told the court his client has no criminal record and there was “no evidence whatsoever of financial gain” for this offending.

He said her parents were willing to put up a $25,000 cash deposit for the bail variation.

“The family doesn’t have a great deal of money, it’s as much as they can do,” he said.

After Mr Tsavdaridis expressed concern that she “might leave the country and never come back,” her lawyer said she had a mortgage and had “worked seven days a week to pay for this trip”.

Mr Tsavdaridis responded that it was “not exactly a compelling case” to allow someone facing drug supply charges to go on a Contiki trip and felt “very uncomfortable about it”.

But, he ultimately granted the bail variation, which minimised Lovatt’s required reporting days and allowed her to leave the country.

Contiki is a New Zealand- and Australia-based tour company that caters to 18 to 35-year-olds, offering more than 350 different tours in over 75 countries.

Lovatt will next face court on August 7.