By Erin Pearson
A former Australian Federal Police officer has avoided prison despite being found with a quantity of drugs 50 times higher than the threshold for trafficking, in a case a magistrate said was “shrouded in mystery”.
William Noel Wheatley, 46, faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court charged over the seizure of 200 grams of methamphetamine while he was a serving police officer.
William Wheatley (right) outside Melbourne Magistrates’ Court with his lawyer.Credit: Erin Pearson
Wheatley, from Kensington in Melbourne’s inner north-west, was ordered in February to stand trial in the County Court on multiple charges, including drug trafficking and possession, before the matter was sent back to the lower court, where he pleaded guilty to lesser charges.
A magistrate said how and why the meth ended up in Wheatley’s possession, in December 2022, largely remained a mystery.
Despite the volume of drugs that was found, the court heard last week that Wheatley was only being prosecuted for possession, a crime which carries a significantly smaller penalty than trafficking.
“This case is as notable for what the court has not been told as for what the court has been told,” magistrate Costas Kilias said.
“It is encased in its own unusual factual circumstances in that the accused man, Mr Wheatley, was at the time a serving member of the AFP and also in the Army Reserve ... and [has] an otherwise unblemished record.”
The court heard that before his arrest, Wheatley worked in the fraud area of cybercrime and the anti-child exploitation team, a joint unit with Victoria Police. During last week’s hearing, the court was told Wheatley was no longer with the AFP.
The magistrate accepted there were significant concerns surrounding Wheatley’s safety if he was to be jailed, although no one the former officer previously prosecuted remains incarcerated.
Kilias said he had been given no information about where the drugs came from or how long they had been in Wheatley’s possession while he was with the AFP.
Wheatley must serve a 15-month community corrections order and do 150 hours of unpaid work.Credit: Erin Pearson
“What I do know, however, is there is no evidence of him profiting, or indeed any evidence of him intending to profit, from the drugs that were found in his possession,” the magistrate said.
“This case is shrouded in mystery in some respects. Despite the mystery and shrouding and the unknown elements of this case, I cannot speculate on what might fill those shadows, those voids, those blanks.
“I can only deal with what’s in front of me, and it is a possession drugs case.”
Kilias said the quantity of drugs seized was 201.3 grams, an amount about 50 times higher than the trafficable quantity by law.
He sentenced Wheatley to a 15-month community corrections order with 150 hours of unpaid community work.
Wheatley must also be assessed for and participate in any behavioural programs as directed.
He was previously on bail with conditions that prevented him from leaving Australia while the case was before the courts.
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