Martijn De Raad pleads guilty in Toowoomba Supreme Court to trafficking dangerous drugs

While conducting a raid at a Toowoomba premises police made an unexpected discovery when a methylamphetamine trafficker arrived at the property.

Police managed to nab a Toowoomba methylamphetamine trafficker after he arrived at an unrelated property that was subject to a drug raid, a court has been told.

Despite having no previous run-ins with the law, Martijn De Raad’s addiction to ice began in 2019 after he separated from his wife, Toowoomba Supreme Court was told.

That addiction quickly spiralled into the then 29-year-old trafficking the drug across Toowoomba, Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald said.

De Raad came to the attention of police on August 24, 2019 when he arrived at a Toowoomba address that was the subject of a police drug raid.

Police stopped De Raad, and Ms Friedewald said a search of his vehicle uncovered a large quantity of drugs, including 9.2g of methylamphetamine, 10g of MDMA, 0.842g of cocaine as well as $3020 in cash.

Following his arrest and release on bail, Ms Friedewald said police investigations continued into phones seized, which revealed the extent of De Raad’s trafficking.

Martijn de Raad faced Toowoomba Supreme Court on June 3, 2022 where he was sentenced for trafficking a dangerous drug and drug possession charges.

The court was told that over a six-month period. the now 32-year-old sold street level quantities of drugs to at least 50 people.

Ms Friedewald said De Raad sourced wholesale quantities from four suppliers, and there was “some sophistication” to his enterprise.

The court was told that in December 2019, De Raad supplied an undercover officer with an eight ball of methylamphetamine on three separate occasions, and his trafficking came to an end after his home was raided on February 7, 2020.

De Raad appeared in Toowoomba Supreme Court on Friday where he pleaded guilty to trafficking in dangerous drugs, five counts of possessing a dangerous drug and contravening an order about information necessary to access an electronic device.

Defence barrister Michael Copley said his client fell into drug addiction and subsequent trafficking as a result of a separation from his wife.

Mr Copley said at the time De Raad recognised he had a drug problem and had inquired about rehabilitation but “didn’t have the strength of character” to go through with it.

While Mr Copley accepted that De Raad’s first arrest for drug possession didn’t deter him from further trafficking, a three month stint in pre-sentence custody was the motivation he needed to reform himself.

The court was told there was no further offending while on bail for more than two years, and that he had repaired the relationship with his wife.

Justice Martin Burns accepted Mr Copley’s submission that his client had turned his life around, noting that hair follicle drug tests revealed he had been clean for some time.

Justice Burns convicted De Raad and sentenced him to three years jail. With 83 days of pre-sentence custody as time served De Raad was released on immediate parole.