Shane Andrew Phelan pleads guilty to drug charges in Mackay

A Mackay miner struggling with the collapse of his second marriage turned to drugs to cope with the pain, ultimately becoming the middleman in a meth deal.

A Mackay father of two and miner, following the collapse of his second marriage, turned to drugs to help him get past it, but later found himself in hot water after becoming the middle man in a drug deal. Photo: Fergus Gregg.

A Mackay miner and father-of-two turned to drugs to help get past the collapse of his second marriage, but found himself in hot water after getting in the middle of a drug deal.

Shane Andrew Phelan, 51, was at a low point in his life on November 11, 2023, when he acted as an intermediary between two parties for the exchange of 3.5g of methamphetamine for $1000 - in exchange he would receive a small quantity of methamphetamine for his own usage.

Phelan was arrested onApril 18, 2024, and pleaded guilty to one charge of supplying dangerous drugs in Mackay District Court.

Mr Phelan had two children from his first marriage and was recovering from the end of his second marriage when the offending occurred. Photo: Fergus Gregg

Defence barrister Scott McLennan said his client was at a “pretty low ebb of his life” and was recovering from his second separation.

“He was at a low end of his life at the time, he was feeling depressed and he dabbled with ecstasy,” Mr McLennan said.

“My client never actually had possession of the methamphetamine and he didn’t pass any drugs or cash.”

The court heard Phelan had no criminal history related to drugs, but did have a charge of assault occasioning bodily harm on his record from punching his brother in the face, which resulted in a fine and no conviction was recorded.

Phelan had no previous history with drugs, but did have a previous charge of assault occasioning bodily harm, which the court did not record a conviction of.

Mr McLennan said Phelan had a long work history in the mining industry and, when police arrested him, they found no evidence of drugs on his person or at his home.

“He’d already stopped using drugs before any police intervention,” Mr Mclennan said.

District judge John Coker said he accepted Phelan was just the middleman and received no money during the exchange, but “a small amount of meth for the purposes of your own use”.

“The offending is serious, but to be frank it is at the lower end of the seriousness,” Judge Coker said.

“It is indeed tragic that not only once but twice there have been breakdowns.”

Mr McLennan asked Judge Coker that convictions not be recorded as Phelan had a daughter living in New Zealand and would be prevented from visiting her.

Phelan was ordered to pay $2500 within three months from March 18, 2025 and convictions were not recorded.

“Don’t for a moment think that it’s an inconsequential penalty,” Judge Coker said.

“It is one that comes with real obligations.”

Originally published as Shane Andrew Phelan pleads guilty to drug charges in Mackay