Suspended sentence, community service for man found with ecstasy in his undies at Hobart Airport

A judge has delivered some harsh words to a man being sentenced for attempting to smuggle ecstasy tablets in his underpants.

A man who was caught at Hobart Airport with ecstasy pills in his undies has avoided jail.

THE behaviour of a man caught at Hobart Airport with 19 ecstasy pills in his underpants was “out of control”, a Supreme Court judge has said.

Justice Gregory Geason today sentenced Samuel Adrian Webb, 20, who pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court in Hobart last month to one count of drug trafficking.

The court heard Webb had been partying in Hobart for several days and went to Hobart Airport about 4am on February 25 and tried to use cash to buy a ticket to Melbourne — to continue partying.

Airline staff called police because Webb and two friends were acting suspiciously, and the tablets were found in Webb’s underpants.

“Your behaviour was out of control,” Justice Geason said.

“In my view you exhibited a good deal of immaturity.”

He said Webb was also carrying $2200 cash and, in the lead up to the airport visit, had purchased 252 ecstasy tablets.

Justice Geason said Webb had a drug debt “in excess of $13,000”.

He said Webb had plans to sell some of the tablets to help pay off the debt.

“This was not a commercial venture,” Justice Geason said.

Webb, formerly of Hobart, had moved to Victoria but will return to Hobart to complete the community service hours he has been ordered to perform.

Justice Geason sentenced Webb to one year’s jail, wholly suspended for three years and ordered he perform 100 hours of community service work.