Ice dealing Burnie mum gets more jail time

A drug-addicted Burnie mother who onsold between $50,000 and $70,000 worth of ice and stuffed drugs down her bra will stay behind bars for an extra two and a half years.

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A DRUG-addicted Burnie mother who onsold between $50,000 and $70,000 worth of ice will stay behind bars for an extra two and a half years.

Zoe Leanne Whiley, 38, pleaded guilty to trafficking in ice and guns and possession of stolen firearm charges.

Justice Robert Pearce said Whiley had come into possession of the firearms after a house at Boat Harbour was broken into in January this year.

A search of Whiley’s Acton home found a gun in the boot of a car and CCTV footage showed the firearms being brought to the property.

Whiley told police that two men had brought the guns to the house and asked her to sell them. The stolen weapons were then passed onto a third man who was going to sell them for $500 each.

Zoe Leanne Whiley pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and selling stolen firearms in the Burnie Supreme Court. Photo: Facebook

During a police search Whiley produced two bags containing 18 grams of ice – one from a handbag and one from down her bra.

Whiley told police she was a drug user and had purchased $3000 worth of ice on credit intending to sell enough to cover her costs and use the rest.

She was charged and bailed.

Two months later, Whiley was a passenger in a car stopped by police. More drugs were found.

Whiley told police she had handled three to four ounces of ice in the weeks leading up to that search.

Justice Pearce said Whiley had an extensive criminal history and prior jail terms had not deterred her from offending.

She is currently in Risdon Prison after being sentenced in July for a serious assault.

He said there was no point ordering Whiley pay back the $50,000 earned.

“You already owe $7000 to Centrelink, $1500 to Housing Tasmania and more than $17,000 in outstanding fines. I think there is no realistic prospect that you will ever be able to pay off a penalty in that amount, or any meaningful part of it,” he said.

On the firearms charges Whiley was sentenced to three months imprisonment cumulative to the term she is already serving.

On the trafficking charge she was sentenced to two years and four months, cumulative to the other term.

“The result is a total term of two years and seven months cumulative to the term that you are currently serving with eligibility for parole after having served half of the sentences that I have imposed,” he said.