Brigham Michael Taylor, 42, had a base of 60 meth customers

The 42-year-old drug dealer will spend at least 12 months in custody before being released on probation.

The 42-year-old sold small amounts of ice to a customer base of 60 in Toowoomba.

A Toowoomba drug dealer who at times had a customer base of up to 60 people has been jailed for four years.

Brigham Michael Taylor had trafficked methylamphetamine (ice) to drug users over a 13-month period from March 2018, Toowoomba Supreme Court heard.

In what Crown prosecutor Ellen Fletcher described as a “not particularly sophisticated” operation, the 42-year-old sold meth in weights that were considered “street level” from “a point” (0.1g) up to 3.5g.

Taylor had sourced the meth from Warren Brian Slater, 52, who was in June this year sentenced by the same court to four years in jail on a charge of trafficking, she said.

Slater had trafficked drugs for just seven weeks but had dealt in much larger quantities of drug, Ms Fletcher told the court.

When arrested by police, Taylor’s trafficking in meth was increasing, she said.

Taylor had spent 53 days in custody before pleading guilty to trafficking meth, possessing $550 in proceeds of drug sales and possessing less than 1g of meth when arrested in Kingsthorpe in September 2019.

His barrister Steve Kissick said his client had provided a letter to the court which gave an insight into his offending.

The 42-year-old was seeking help with Narcotics Anonymous while in custody and would continue to seek help with the organisation when he was eventually released from prison, he said.

His client’s partner was facing similar charges but had as yet to be dealt with by the court, and arrangements were in place for the care of their children, Mr Kissick said.

Justice Peter Callaghan told Taylor he had been spreading misery to other people in the community by dealing in drugs.

“You were feeding the addiction of 60 people,” he told Taylor.

Justice Callaghan said dealing in meth at this scale demanded a jail term of at least four years.

However, taking into account the time it was taking the parole board to hear parole applications, he would suspend the term so Taylor would have certainty of when he would be released from custody, he said.

Justice Callaghan sentenced Taylor for four years in jail but ordered the balance of the term be suspended after having served 12 months for four years.

Declaring 53 days as time served, Justice Callaghan also placed Taylor on three years probation.