Decade behind bars for mining town drug peddler

Drug trafficker sentenced for 28 charges including driving car into a house, explosives and guns

A DRUG trafficker with 57 customers was selling methamphetamine and marijuana across Moranbah and Mackay for almost a year.

Matthew Joseph Borg, 24, was caught with 7.858g of methamphetamine, 78g of marijuana, a glass pipe, scales, a metal scoop, and $650 cash on November 14 2018.

After a period of detention, he was granted bail only to drive under the influence and crash into a house on March 26, 2019.

He possessed a knife, and a 22-single shot rifle, and a stolen registration plate attached to the car.

Three months later on June 12, police found him with 63 MDMA pills, cocaine, scales, $3096, two rifles including a bolt-action single shot, ammunition, and 32.655g of methamphetamine.

Borg pleaded guilty in Mackay Supreme Court to almost 30 charges, including drug trafficking between August 2018 to June 2019, drug possession, and weapon possession on June 3.

"He had around 57 customers and sold in amounts ranging from points of half ounces of methamphetamine and there was one occasion of offering to supply two ounces of (marijuana)," crown prosecutor Kate Milbourne said.

"He then sold street level amounts of up to an ounce of (marijuana)."

Justice David North said Borg's trafficking business appeared "well organised" and he had worked on his "drug problems" while in remand.

"You had a difficult young life. You started using drugs at age 14," Justice North said.

Borg was sentenced to five-and-half years jail. He has already served 357 days and will be eligible for parole on April 12, 2021.

He was disqualified from driving for three years.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Mr Borg was sentenced to nine years and four-and-a-half months. In fact, his sentences were concurrent, not cumulative. He was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail. The original version also incorrectly stated parole eligibility would be in 2022. But he can apply from 2021. The Daily Mercury apologises for the errors. 

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