Kaylene Howlett sentenced for drug trafficking the Hobart Supreme Court

A Supreme Court Justice said money was put into the betting account of a 61-year-old woman when she trafficked meth. Here’s what happened when she was sentenced.

HOBART, AUSTRALIA – NewsWire Photos APRIL 30 2021: Supreme Court of Tasmania, Salamanca Place, Hobart, Tasmania. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Richard Jupe

A Supreme Court judge says a 61-year-old woman sometimes received money in her betting account and petrol when she delivered methylamphetamine and MDMA.

On Thursday Kaylene Howlett was ordered to pay $7,683 and received a suspended sentence of four months, after she pleaded guilty to trafficking a controlled substance.

Justice Robert Pearce said on May 24, 2023, Howlett collected two snap lock bags of methylamphetamine from a home in Gagebrook, with the intention of delivering it to a Claremont home.

He said the drugs, one bag with 5.0 grams and the other 22.6 grams, had a street value of between $7,000 and $28,000.

“You were asked to deliver although you did not know which drug or the precise quantity,” Justice Pearce said.

Justice Robert Pearce. Picture: SUPPLIED

“When you were interviewed by the police you admitted that you had delivered and collected drugs on other occasions.

“In return for this and other deliveries you were not paid but they sometimes put petrol in your car and deposited money in your TAB account.”

In sentencing, Justice Pearce noted Howlett’s only prior offences were traffic related, and that she had an “admirable history” of employment as a nurse.

He said her role was limited.

Justice Pearce said she was allegedly acting at the direction of others.

“In a sense you were taken advantage of as well.

“He asked you to take a risk of detection he was not prepared to take himself.”