Belinda Wangman pleads guilty to drug trafficking and animal cruelty

A Colac farmer who turned to drug trafficking in an attempt to keep her business afloat has pleaded guilty to trafficking and animal cruelty charges.

Belinda Wangman pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges.

A Colac farmer who turned to drug trafficking to keep her business afloat also failed to care for calves which had to be euthanized due to neglect.

Belinda Loretta Wangman pleaded guilty in the Geelong Magistrates Court on Thursday to drug trafficking and animal cruelty charges.

The 46-year-old was convicted and sentenced to a community corrections order.

The court heard police started investigating Wangman when they received reports of someone trafficking drugs in Colac.

The investigation ended when police executed a search warrant at Wangman’s home on March 19, 2021.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable David Vanderpol said office found cannabis and amphetamine at Wangman’s home, as well as evidence of drug trafficking on her mobile phone.

The court heard the phone contained messages related to drug trafficking to about 15 customers between August 2017 and March 2021.

When she was interviewed by police, Wangman told police she had the cultivated the drugs for personal use. She made no admissions to trafficking.

The court heard Wangman was also responsible for looking after cattle at one of her farms, but neglected to care for them after her husband died.

The court heard agricultural officers attended her Pirron Yallock property after receiving complaints.

Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action prosecutor Scott Ward said 20 calves ranged in condition from poor to moderate, while 45 calves were confined to muddy water with no feed.

Mr Ward said the majority of these calves were in an emaciated condition and a weakened state.

The court heard two of the calves were seriously ill and needed to be euthanized “to prevent further suffering”.

Wangman’s lawyer said her client faced a number of challenges following the sudden death of her husband and turned to selling cannabis to “stay afloat”.

“It spans a date range that is not insignificant. Certainly it isn’t alleged that it was some great quantity or some sophisticated organised type of operation,” she said.

“They were selling some cannabis, in essence to stay afloat to be able to help with those sorts of finances and that expenditure that needed to take place.”

In relation to the animal cruelty charges, Wangman’s lawyer said she was “overwhelmed” by the task of feeding the livestock after the death of her husband.

Magistrate Franz Holzer convicted and fined Wangman $3000 for the animal cruelty offences and sentenced her to a community corrections order in relation to the drug trafficking matters.

“Any body with the care and responsibility of animals, needs to have the capacity to look after them appropriately,” Mr Holzer said.

Originally published as Belinda Wangman pleads guilty to drug trafficking and animal cruelty