Kye Andrew Niveri sentenced in Townsville District Court for supplying drugs from a correctional facility

A ‘serious recidivist’ offender used his telephone calls while in prison to supply drugs after already being caught and charged with making deals from behind bars a month earlier.

Generic. File. Stuart Prison. Townsville Correctional Centre. Picture: Evan Morgan

A man with a nine-page criminal history who has continued to make drug deals from behind bars has fronted court for attempting to supply subbies and meth by making phone calls to unapproved contacts.

Kye Andrew Niveri appeared in Townsville District Court recently after he made arrangements to supply 85 Suboxone strips while he was an inmate at Townsville Correctional Centre.

Suboxone which is the brand name for buprenorphine is a prescription opiate used to help wean people off ice and heroine and also goes by the street name ‘subbies’, and has become a popular black market prison drug.

Crown prosecutor Patrick Newman told the court the 30-year-old made the initial deal with a partner outside of prison on an unknown date between October 1, 2022 and November 1, 2022.

Mr Newman said the man’s partner with whom he made the arrangements through, was taken off his approved caller list however he continued to make six phone calls to another contact who would put him through to his partner to make further arrangements for the drug supplies.

The crown revealed on April 19 last year Niveri arranged for 0.64g of methamphetamine to be delivered to the prison with his co-accused Kim William Severnty who was sentenced on April 10.

Severnty who was also charged with a string of other drug supply charges was sentenced to three and a half years’ jail.

Kye Andrew Niveri fronted the Townsville Supreme Court on May 21, 2021. Photo: Facebook.

The court was told the meth was intercepted by police and found in an express post envelope with white powder that was not purity tested but did contain methamphetamine.

“He’s a serious recidivist, he’s a mature man with total disregard to the law,” Mr Newman said.

“It happened in circumstances where he had already been charged and warned about the offending and persisted with it.”

Defence barrister Ross Malcolmson, instructed by Resolute Legal said his client had been behind bars since 2020 and applied for parole but was refused.

“It’s unknown if he’ll be granted parole given his recent behaviour,” he said.

He said Niveri had two children he wanted to resume a relationship with upon his release and had been trying to “get to the bottom of his triggers for drug use” while behind bars.

Judge Katherine McGinness highlighted the man’s “serious criminal history” while handing down a sentence.

“You have young sons who you’ve set an appalling example for so far,” she said.

Niveri pleaded guilty to three counts of supplying dangerous drugs and six counts of calling an approved number and requesting to conference with someone else.

He was sentenced to 12 months’ jail and is eligible for parole immediately.

Originally published as Kye Andrew Niveri sentenced in Townsville District Court for supplying drugs from a correctional facility