In court: Launceston businesswoman found guilty of stolen sawn-off shotgun

The owner of a popular Launceston business has been found guilty of possessing a stolen, sawn-off shotgun, with the case linked to her beau and his friend’s alleged ice-trafficking.

The young owner of a popular Launceston business has been found guilty of possessing a stolen, sawn-off shotgun with its serial number filed off, with the court preventing publication of the woman’s name as her partner and his friend are accused of a meth-trafficking ring.

Launceston Magistrate Sharon Cure handed down her decision on Friday, finding the woman, who lives southwest of Launceston and is aged in her twenties, guilty of four charges relating to the firearm.

She also found the woman guilty of possessing a firearm part, a rifle bolt, but not guilty of possessing ammunition without a license.

The woman previously pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited import, capsicum spray.

The court heard the offences came to light following a search warrant executed on the woman’s address on August 10, 2020.

Tasmania Police were searching for a soft toy koala, allegedly containing 28g of methamphetamine – which had “likely” been substituted out for an inert substance – that had been posted to her address, Ms Cure told the court in summary of the case.

A young Launceston business owner has been found guilty of possessing a stolen, sawn-off shotgun with its serial number removed. Picture: Facebook

The defendant was not at the address initially, but her partner and his friend, both of whom live in the Launceston area and are aged in their twenties or thirties, and who were subsequently charged with offences including meth trafficking, were present.

Inside the residence police discovered the toy koala, ammunition stuffed within a couch cushion, in a ziplock bag on top of an air-fryer in the kitchen and inside a safe located within the master-bedroom wardrobe, the key for which was found inside the defendant’s boyfriend’s wallet, located in a bedside table drawer, Ms Cure said.

Meanwhile, the stolen, sawn-off shotgun with its serial number filed off, was discovered in a shelf of the wardrobe, buried within the boyfriend’s clothes, above the safe.

The defendant’s DNA was discovered on the stock and forestock of the shotgun, the court heard.

Ms Cure told the court that in interviews with police, the defendant alleged she had never seen the firearm, the safe in her wardrobe or any of the ammunition before.

The alleged meth-trafficking boyfriend of a young Launceston business owner has been found guilty of possessing a stolen, sawn-off shotgun with its serial number removed. Picture: Facebook

Ms Cure found, however, it was “utterly implausible” she did not know about the contents of her wardrobe – the safe and the gun – especially in light of her testimony she did all the washing and folding in the household.

However, she did not find the defendant “knew what was in the safe” and it could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt the defendant knew about the ammunition in the cushion or on the air-fryer.

Defence lawyer Fran McCracken told the court the defendant’s boyfriend remained on bail awaiting trial in the Supreme Court, but the associate, who had previous convictions for trafficking in drugs and was subsequently found with “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in his possession, had been remanded in pre-sentence custody.

Ms McCracken told the court the allegation against the boyfriend and the associate, is that the associate used the defendant’s house as a “delivery house”, to distance himself from the alleged operation.

Ms Cure said she believed the defendant had engaged in wilful “blindness” as to what was allegedly going on under her nose.

She fined the defendant $2500 and imposed court levies of $327.75, but spared her convictions due to the impact they would have on her future employment prospects.