William Armstrong pleads guilty to charges over Colac drug lab
Specialist police were in the middle of raiding the home of a former bikie when a package containing precursor drugs arrived, a court has heard.
A former Hells Angels bikie who was once a player in large-scale commercial drug trafficking has been successful in his bid to have his case heard in a lower court.
William Armstrong, 49, appeared in Geelong Magistrates’ Court on Friday via prison link and pleaded guilty to possessing materials, substances – including solvents and precursor chemicals – and equipment for drug trafficking.
The charges stem from a raid on his Colac home in April.
Armstrong also pleaded guilty to possessing ice and cannabis and possessing a prohibited weapon – a taser.
With his plea, four other charges were withdrawn, while a further charge of dealing with the suspected proceeds of crime – $4385 cash – is contested and still under negotiation.
Magistrate Kimberley Swadesir granted Armstrong’s summary jurisdiction application, which was unopposed by the Office of Public Prosecutions.
Ben Thompson, for the OPP, told the court that Armstrong’s home was raided on April 23 this year.
Armstrong, who Mr Thompson said was a former member of the Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle gang, was arrested by members of the elite Special Operations Group.
A search of the home revealed numerous items that indicated its use as a drug lab, including scientific glassware, chemicals and “drug manufacturing literature”, court documents revealed.
Officers from the Clandestine Laboratories Squad also found small amounts of ice and cannabis, which the court heard was accepted to be for personal use, and the cash.
Mr Thompson said the chemicals were used in the production of methamphetamine.
While police were searching the home, a package containing more precursor materials arrived.
Armstrong refused to be interviewed over the matter.
The court heard Armstrong was jailed for trafficking a large commercial quantity of MDMA, trafficking a commercial quantity of meth, handling stolen goods and drug possession.
Armstrong had organised the manufacture of ice at two clandestine labs, one at his home and the other in a co-offender’s garage.
Both were raided in 2008, and in 2012 the Court of Appeal re-sentenced Armstrong to nine years and three months jail, with a seven year non-parole period.
According to the appeal judgment, Armstrong’s role in that case also involved receiving large amounts of MDMA from an associate and then distributing it to others.
Mr Thompson told the court Armstrong had at one point sought “50,000 MDMA tablets”.
On Friday, Armstrong’s lawyer James Mortley conceded his client had a “highly relevant” criminal history, but told the court that it was aged.
The prior case was “orders of magnitude” more serious, Mr Mortley said, arguing the charges before the court lacked aggravating factors and the drug lab was “inactive” at the time of the raid.
Mr Mortley said there was no evidence as to who organised the precursor shipments to Armstrong’s home.
The proceeds of crime charge, which was still contested, would resolve depending on whether or not Armstrong could provide receipts for the cash seized, Mr Mortley said.
Ms Swadesir granted the summary jurisdiction application, noting the seriousness of the charges and the maximum sentence the Magistrates’ Court could impose was five years.
She said his history was “very, very relevant” but agreed it was dated.
Armstrong will reappear in court in November.
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Originally published as William Armstrong pleads guilty to charges over Colac drug lab
