Addict on dole busted leaving home with dangerous loot

The man said he was ‘visiting a friend’ when police caught him trying to make his escape.

A man was sentenced on Thursday morning for the possession of dangerous drugs over two grams.

TRAVIS Troy Desnica was trying to quietly slip out the side door of a Cannonvale unit when police caught him, suspicious that he was looting the home.

He told the officers he was just “visiting a friend” but what was found in his pockets and his backpack was damning.

The 46 year old had been unemployed for four years, living off Centrelink payments and addicted to methamphetamine after struggling with a heroin addiction while living in Brisbane.

In Mackay Supreme Court, defence barrister Matthew Heelan described Desnica as being “addictive by nature”, and after moving to Airlie Beach in 2015 to try and find work, he had been pulled into the methamphetamine scene by his peers.

Mr Heelan argued the drugs found on Desnica were for personal use, not commercial use, due to a lack of scales and his history of addiction.

However, the prosecution said the fact the bags were packaged into “saleable quantities” suggested commercial distribution.

Attending his unit with a search warrant on May 23, 2019, police found eight clip-seal bags containing 5.634 grams of crystallised substance and 3.527 grams of methamphetamine on his person, as well as a bag containing 1g of marijuana, a double-edged knife, a sharps container with syringes inside, and $90 cash.

The amount of methamphetamine found had a potential sale value of $2600.

Desnica pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a dangerous drug.

Justice David North sentenced Desnica to 18 months jail, with a parole release date set for June 19, 2020.