The young people peddling dangerous drugs across Geelong
Drug dealers and their crimes are rife in Geelong community and data shows it’s more likely to come from the youngest residents. Here are some of the young traffickers caught up in the courts this year.
Geelong
Don't miss out on the headlines from Geelong. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The peddling of dangerous drugs is behind a recent surge of crimes committed across the Greater Geelong region.
Most of the time, these dealers are young Geelong residents.
According to data from the Crime Statistics Agency, there were 3,734 drug trafficking busts across the state in the last financial year.
Men aged between 20 and 29 were the most common offenders, followed by women between the ages of 25 and 34.
In sentencing a dealer late last month, Magistrate Franz Holzer said dealing has a “whole series of social and community consequences”.
“It’s rife in our community and people think it’s okay to peddle in drugs and cause so much misery and harm,” Mr Holzer said.
During another sentence, Mr Holzer added that dealing, particularly by those with a history of drug offences, “is normally driven by greed and the consequences of that greed can … be catastrophic”.
Geelong superintendent Peter Ward told the Geelong Advertiser this week that police are continuing to crack down on the offenders.
“Our dedicated teams of detectives remain committed to targeting drug dealers, suppliers, and manufacturers through targeted operations and the monitoring of known offenders to reduce the devastating impact form drugs in our community,” he said.
Geelong inspector Karl Curran also told the Advertiser that “no area is immune from the devastating impacts of drug use”.
“Police will continue to work tirelessly to keep illicit drugs off our streets and ensure that Geelong remains a safe and peaceful place to live,” Insp. Curran said.
Here are some of Geelong’s young residents who faced court over the last year for dealing in drugs of dependence.
James Bowker
A 29-year-old Corio man’s drug trafficking was cut short after police found cash and cocaine in his home faced court earlier this year.
James Bowker fronted the Geelong Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty to possessing a drug of dependence and a weapons charge, with police seizing 55 grams of cocaine and $12,300 in cash.
Police found zip lock bags containing white powder substances, a plastic cup with a metal spoon with residue of the powder, digital scales with the cocaine residue and a knuckle duster.
His defence lawyer told the court Bowker was consuming between five and 10 grams of cocaine a week and the “costly” habit led Bowker to “selling it on the day of offending in order to get some of the money back for his own use”.
The prosecutor said the court could draw an inference that the police investigation meant Bowker’s offending went beyond the day of the raid.
“Given the amount of cash that was located at his house and the number of drugs … he had been trafficking for some time,” the prosecutor argued.
John Nash
A Corio man who was found with drug manufacturing equipment and a recipe for GHB faced the local court in March.
John Nash, 28, pleaded guilty in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court to possessing the equipment and instructions.
The court heard Nash was under the impression police were watching him and “unfairly targeting him” prior to the raid on his Obriens Rd home in July 2021.
Defence lawyer Hollie Lyons said the GHB was not found on the property and chemicals such as Gamma were used for sleep aid.
Nash also pleaded guilty to charges of failing to answer bail, driving unlicensed, possession of methamphetamines, and possession of a weapon, namely a credit card knife.
“You are a person I think who has a problem with authority figures,” Magistrate Franz Holzer said.
Kyle Bloom
A serial offender was back in court in June after police busted him with drugs hidden under his pillow.
Kyle Bloom faced the Geelong Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to possessing a traffickable quantity of drugs of dependence, a firearm and ammunition.
Police raided the 24-year-old man’s home on April 22 and found four clear bags containing cannabis that weighed a total of 120 grams and 10 Xanax and Diazepam pills stashed under his pillow.
As well as the drugs, police also seized a shotgun cartridge and an air rifle that was hidden in the back of the wardrobe.
Bloom was sentenced to a community corrections order just two months before he was found with more drugs in his house.
“He’s had several chances to be rehabilitated and he has not,” the police prosecutor submitted at the time.
Alan Jones
A 23-year-old man who appeared in court for family violence was also facing serious drug offences when police busted him with drugs, cash and deal bags on a Corio street.
Alan Jones, also known as Alan Kondschak, appeared at Geelong Magistrates Court over a spate of offending last year.
The father of two had been on remand for more than two months after being arrested with the drugs and cash.
His lawyer, Adrian Paull, told the court his client’s life had gone off track due to drug use and he would enter a rehabilitation centre.
Magistrate Peter Mellas also acknowledged Jones’ drug use had impacted his ability to deal with situations rationally.
Jones was sentenced to an 18-month community corrections order and 158 days jail as time served.
Jacob Wilson-Church
Theft, weapons and a drug-fuelled misadventure was on display when a 21-year-old Geelong man faced court in June this year.
Jacob Wilson-Church appeared at the Geelong Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to dangerous driving offences, theft of a motor vehicle and drug charges.
In October 2021, police were called to a St Kilda hotel where Wilson-Church and two others were having a “sex party with methamphetamine” and were spotted on the balcony naked.
Just one month earlier, Wilson-Church was found standing next to a car outside a Melbourne kebab shop during the Covid lockdowns.
Police executed a search of the vehicle and found weapons and drugs stashed in the doors of the car.
Wilson-Church’s defence lawyer told the court the charges are “indicative of a young man who fell into a lifestyle of drugs”.
Wilson-Church was fined $2000 and ordered to spend nine months behind bars with 98 days already served.
More Coverage
Originally published as The young people peddling dangerous drugs across Geelong
Bed blow for Geelong organisation
Federal funding of almost $1m has been pulled from Anam Cara House Geelong after it could not match the money, meaning eight beds at the end of life facility are unlikely to eventuate.
Surf Coast councillor seeking higher office
A local councillor and RSL president is putting his hand up again in the crucial seat of Corangamite, with voters disillusioned with the major parties a key target.