Violette Marie Joukhadar sentenced for trafficking cannabis

A Sunshine Coast mother has fronted court after police unearthed her trafficking operation, where she sold cannabis to about 50 customers from her home. Read what the judge had to say.

A Sunshine Coast mother has been warned to stay away from drugs after she was sentenced for trafficking cannabis for more than a year from her home.

Violette Marie Joukhadar, 35, of Beerwah, pleaded guilty in Maroochydore District Court on September 5, 2022, to trafficking in dangerous drugs and possessing a mobile phone suspected to have been used in the trafficking offence.

The court heard police had searched Joukhadar’s home on February 5, 2021, and found cannabis, four MDMA tablets, a glass pipe and a mobile phone.

This prompted police to search her phone, where they found evidence Joukhadar had been trafficking cannabis to about 50 customers for more than a year.

The court heard she mostly sold smaller street level quantities but sometimes she would sell up to four pounds and some of her customers would go on to sell the drug to other clients.

Violette Marie Joukhadar pleaded guilty to trafficking in dangerous drugs. Picture: Social media

Police investigations estimated from bank analysis Joukhadar had earned at least $31,100 in sales but also received cash in hand for some sales, the court heard.

Joukhadar’s defence barrister, Catherine Cuthbert, said her client had been battling Thyroid cancer since 2018 and imprisonment would be difficult for her ongoing treatment.

Judge Glen Cash said Joukhadar’s “modest trafficking” would have been done to help fund her own drug use as there was “no evidence” she had made a huge profit off the scheme.

Judge Cash agreed sending Joukhadar to jail would be a “burden” to her, instead ordering she be given a two-year suspended sentence.

“If (the police) come around and find a small amount of cannabis, they find a bong, they’re going to charge you and you’ll be in breach of the orders,” Judge Cash said.

Originally published as Violette Marie Joukhadar sentenced for trafficking cannabis