Vincent Raymond Edwards and Steven Julian Lawla sentenced in Townsville Supreme Court for drug offending

A concreter turned drug syndicate member and a miner with a 30 year criminal history were the most recent drug offenders who were sentenced in the Townsville Supreme Court.

Vincent Raymond Edwards and Steven Julian Lawla sentenced in Townsville Supreme Court for drug offending

A man who once worked as a boat captain, miner and concreter became a “successful” drug dealer for a large-scale syndicate, a court has heard.

Vincent Raymond Edwards was sentenced in the Townsville Supreme Court on Friday where he pleaded guilty to five drug related charges including the possession of dangerous drugs.

Crown prosecutor Andrew Walklate said the 32-year-old began trafficking methamphetamine in January 2023, however it wasn’t until six months later when he fell in with new suppliers who were part of a national drug enterprise where business began to boom.

Mr Walklate said for just over two months, Edwards was typically able to move three ounces of methamphetamines a day, totalling to around 1.2 kilograms, to a customer base of 95 people.

He was arrested after a police investigation linked him to the drug syndicate and officers found a small quantity of meth, clip seal bags and digital scales at his Townsville home, a court was told.

Vincent Raymond Edwards sold around 1.2kg of meth over the course of two months

“It was evidently a pretty sophisticated operation,” Mr Walklate said.

Defence barrister Harvey Walters, instructed by Rennick Lawyers, said Edwards turned to drugs after the breakdown of his 14 year long relationship with his partner.

Mr Walters said he quickly became addicted to meth which escalated into “sourcing the drug to support his own addiction” before he was drawn into dealing drugs.

Justice David North said his bank records from May to September 2023 showed he had sold $55,555 worth of drugs.

“You can be described as a busy trafficker, operating a successful business selling significant quantities of methamphetamines to a large customer base,” he said.

“The circumstance that you could move as much as three ounces of methamphetamine over a period of one day, at worst three or four days… speaks volumes for the size of the enterprise and the audacity of it.”

Justice North labelled him a “good salesman, running an efficient business” but highlighted the seriousness of his offending.

“Methamphetamine is a scourge,” he said.

He was sentenced to seven and a half years jail and given a parole eligibility date of March 5, 2026, as the 576 days spent in pre-sentence custody was declared as time served.

Steven Julian Lawla

A miner who has a criminal record spanning decades and multiple states has been sentenced once again after police found dangerous drugs at his home and storage shed, a court has heard.

Steven Julian Lawla appeared by videolink in the Townsville Supreme Court and pleaded guilty to the unlawful possession of a weapon and a string of drug related offences including possession of a dangerous drug.

Crown prosecutor Ashley Gaden said police executed a search of his Townsville home and a storage unit under his name in December 2023.

Steven Julian Lawla was sentenced in the Townsville Supreme Court for possession of methamphetamine

The court heard during the search of the two locations they found just over 15 grams of pure methamphetamine, an air rifle, six stolen identification cards, $1,150 of cash and drug paraphernalia.

The crown said the 48-year-old had relevant criminal records including New South Wales and Victoria and an Australian Federal Police criminal history.

His criminal record dated back to 1995 when he was just 18 years old and had previously fronted the Townsville Supreme Court on three different occasions, Ms Gaden said.

“He’s placed himself in a position, albeit due to his own actions, of being exposed to the prospect that the court categorises him as an individual with no real chance of rehabilitation,” she said.

Defence barrister Ross Malcomson said Lawla wanted to avoid drugs so he could become a “father figure of substance” for his two teenage children.

Justice David North said because Lawla was a “recidivist offender”, there needed to be a stern response to his crimes.

Lawla was sentenced to four years and three months in jail with 484 days of pre-sentence custody declared as time served.

He was immediately eligible for parole.

Originally published as Vincent Raymond Edwards and Steven Julian Lawla sentenced in Townsville Supreme Court for drug offending