Ilho Ian Park jailed for drug haul of 1.1kg to North Qld

Damage to the front of a car, some looking like blood, attracted Rockhampton police attention to a second-time drug mule who was once busted at Darwin airport with meth.

A police officer holds 1kg of ice seized in Rockhampton.

A man with a seven-page Northern Territory criminal record, including being caught carrying meth from Adelaide to Darwin, has been jailed for possessing drugs in Rockhampton.

Ilho Ian Park, 47, pleaded guilty in the Rockhampton Supreme Court on February 22, 2023 to one count of possessing a schedule one drug in excess of 200 grams and one of possessing drug utensils.

It was the damage to the front of the car - and marks that looked like blood - which drew the attention of police officers who stumbled across the 30-year drug addict’s latest delivery job at the Ampol in Norman Gardens at 2.21am on March 5, 2022.

Justice Graeme Crow said police checks revealed neither of the two males travelling in the vehicle owned it, with one saying they rented it off someone on Facebook and they were going to Caboolture.

However, the GPS in the car told a different tale – they were heading north.

Park declared the 3.91gms of meth in his pocket and nervously repeatedly looked at the passenger’s door of the white Camry while talking with police.

Because of the pair’s history with drugs, and the burnt marijuana smell coming from the car, police searched it and located the meth haul.

It was inside a Woolworths cooler bag in the passenger footwell and two more packaging layers down, Park’s fingerprints were located.

The weight of the crystal substance was 1.4868 kgs with 1.1kg pure meth.

Park’s Northern Territory criminal record dates back to July 2006 where he was convicted for possessing heroin and LSD.

Defence lawyer Maree Willey said Park used heroin for 12 months before moving onto meth, but started smoking marijuana when he was 16 or 17.

She said his teen peer group used drugs.

Park was busted in September, 2011 at Darwin airport, after flying from Adelaide, possessing 243.4 grams of meth worth $393,000.

The NT Supreme Court heard in December, 2011 Park’s payment was to either be $10,000 cash or the same value in drugs.

Justice Crow said Park went on to carry out more than 20 drug offences over the almost 20-year criminal record in the NT and in 2018, he participated in a rehabilitation program which failed because he was back in court for more drug offences in 2019.

The court heard Park’s mother died about that time and he returned to using drugs.

He had been living in Townsville when he was approached to do the latest drug haul.

Justice Crow sentenced Park to 9.5 years prison, declaring 354 days presentence custody as time already served and setting parole eligibility for May 4, 2025.

Originally published as Ilho Ian Park jailed for drug haul of 1.1kg to North Qld