Joshua Luke Coulter Arnold pleads guilty to drug offences in Gatton Magistrates Court | June 17

A South West Queensland truck driver on parole for serious drug offences found himself falling off the deep end after he was caught driving with meth in his system.

Southwest Queensland truck driver Joshua Luke Coulter Arnold pleaded guilty to drug related offences in Gatton Magistrates Court on June 17, 2025. Photo: Facebook

A South West Queensland truck driver on parole for serious drug offences has narrowly missed out on serving actual time in prison.

Joshua Luke Coulter Arnold pleaded guilty in Gatton Magistrates Court to a number of drug related offences, including one count each of possessing dangerous drugs, possessing utensils or pipes, driving while a relevant substance is present in his system and possessing a schedule four drug.

The court was told Arnold, a stock truck driver, was stopped by police for a random check while travelling in a white Kenworth truck near Longreach on March 13.

When police searched the vehicle, they located a small clip seal bag which contained around 1g of methylamphetamine, a used pipe and the drug Modafinil which Arnold told police he didn’t have a prescription for.

A test of Arnold’s saliva was also positive for methylamphetamine.

The court was further told Arnold had been sentenced for drug driving back in November 2024, and was on parole until August 2026 for previous serious drug offences dealt with in the Brisbane Supreme Court in 2020.

His lawyer Nathan Hounsell told the court Arnold was dealing with a personal family issue at the time of the offending, which saw him relapse.

Mr Hounsell said his client has been engaging in drug rehabilitation programs and hadn’t committed a serious criminal offence in seven years.

Magistrate Melanie Ho expressed concern Arnold was back on the road reoffending after having only pleaded guilty to a drug driving charge five months ago.

“What concerns me is that he’s the driver of a large truck and is repeatedly using drugs while driving,” she said.

Mr Hounsell told the court the possibility of Arnold being returned to custody if he continues to reoffend has pushed him to engage in drug rehabilitation efforts.

In handing down her sentence, Ms Ho gave credit to Arnold for his efforts to kick his drug habit and disqualified him from driving for four months.

He was also sentenced to two months imprisonment suspended for 12 months and was convicted and not further punished for possessing a schedule four drug.

Originally published as Joshua Luke Coulter Arnold pleads guilty to drug offences in Gatton Magistrates Court | June 17