Lily Sara Foster: Launceston ice importer turns drug counsellor

A Launceston chef who helped her dealer import 750g of meth from Thailand is now helping others beat their addiction, a court has heard.

A Launceston chef who helped a drug associate import at least $150,000 worth of methamphetamine from Thailand by tracking and signing for the package now helps other addicts conquer their demons, a court has heard.

Dilston woman Lily Sara Foster, 42, was sentenced in Launceston Supreme Court on Wednesday after previously being found guilty by a jury of importing a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug.

Foster, the court heard, assisted her sometime-dealer Jason Peter Earle, who has already been sentenced, in importing 885.8g of ice with a pure weight of 708.6g, worth between $150,000 – $350,000, in April 2019.

A package was mailed to a fictional ‘Jessica Roberts’ at Earle’s Ulverstone address and marked as containing bras and underwear, the court was told.

It did, but also inside were 12 handbags, within each of which was secreted a quantity of ice.

The ice was intercepted by the Australian Federal Police and replaced with an inert substance.

Earle requested Foster track the package for him before she joined him at his address on April 16, 2019.

An AFP officer disguised as an Australia Post delivery person dropped off the package and requested ‘Jessica Roberts’ sign, which Foster did, posing as the non-existent woman.

Chief Justice Alan Blow told the court he was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt Foster either knew the package contained drugs or was recklessly indifferent as to whether it did.

Breaking News Breaking News Dilston woman Lily Sara Foster, 42. Picture: Alex Treacy

While the court heard Foster had a prejudicial upbringing and had struggled with alcohol and drug abuse since the age of 16, shortly after leaving home, it was told she had taken incredible steps towards her rehabilitation, such that she now helps counsel addicts by sharing her “lived experience”.

The court heard Foster, originally a chef, spent three weeks as an inpatient with the Salvation Army’s Bridge Program at New Town, lived for six months at the Missiondale Therapeutic Community at Evandale and then spent a further 12 months living on-site three days a week via its Futures Program.

She had since completed a Cert III in Community Services, a Mental Health First Aid course, and was now employed part-time by the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Service as a “lived experience advocate”.

Justice Blow said the steps towards rehabilitation Foster had taken were "impressive”.

As such, he sentenced her to a 10-month home detention order, with conditions that she submit to electronic tracking and regular visits from police and other agencies to check her compliance.