Pair jailed after mailing drugs to random Yarra Ranges letterboxes

THE mystery of why envelopes full of cocaine arrived in random letterboxes across Melbourne’s east last year has been solved.

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A COUPLE has been locked up after importing drugs to the Wonga Park post office and, bizarrely, to random addresses in the Yarra Ranges, with the drug traffickers racing each day to beat homeowners to their letterboxes.

Boronia couple Levi Millar and Tayla Madden are both behind bars for trafficking, which first came to light when a parcel of drugs burst at the post office, exposing staff to white powder which turned out to be cocaine.

Melbourne County Court Judge Wendy Milmoth sentenced Millar and Madden to 18 months and 16 months jail, respectively.

Court documents show the couple started their drug importing business after running out of money to fund their heavy ice habit.

In July 2014, Millar paid an associate $1000 to lease a post office box at the Wonga Park post office and started importing small parcels of drugs to the box.

Millar used a digital currency to pay for the drugs, which arrived in envelopes bearing United Kingdom stamps.

Deliveries continued infrequently until a damaged package arrived at the post office on September 17, 2014, exposing staff to the cocaine inside.

Police arrested the couple who were carrying nearly $17,000 in cash and a wealth of drugs including ice, popular party drug MDMA and cocaine at the time.

Both Millar and Madden were granted bail but soon devised a new system to continue their trafficking.

According to court documents, in March last year a Coldstream woman received a parcel in her letterbox containing 30g of cocaine.

Police set up surveillance at her home and Millar was witnessed inspecting the letter box on multiple occasions.

On July 13 an Olinda resident contacted police to say they had received two parcels of cocaine.

Madden was later seen inspecting the letterbox at the Olinda home.

The couple, then living in Bayswater, were arrested for a second time but this time did not apply for bail.

Millar, 33, must serve a minimum of 10 months in prison before being release, while Madden, 24, will be eligible for parole after eight months in jail.

Originally published as Pair jailed after mailing drugs to random Yarra Ranges letterboxes