Tasmanian drug traffickers sentenced over summer
From a woman who trafficked up to $1.2m worth of meth on the Spirit to a dad who stashed a bag of drugs in his anus, the scourge of ice is continuing to leave its mark across the island. FULL LIST OF TRAFFICKERS >>
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From a woman who trafficked up to $1.2 million worth of meth on the Spirit of Tasmania to an exhausted dad who stashed a bag of the drug in his anus, the scourge of ice is continuing to leave its mark across the island.
Over summer alone, a number of traffickers have already been sentenced for selling the dangerous substance – or other illegal drugs. Here are some of the most notable.
Lily Sara Foster
Launceston chef Lily Sara Foster – who once helped a drug associate import at least $150,000 worth of methamphetamine from Thailand – now helps other addicts conquer their demons.
Dilston woman Lily Sara Foster, 42, was sentenced to a 10-month home detention order in February after she was found guilty of helping import 885.8g of ice with a pure weight of 708.6g, worth between $150,000 and $350,000.
The Supreme Court of Tasmania heard a package was mailed to a fictional “Jessica Roberts” at Foster’s dealer’s home in April 2019, with the parcel marked as containing bras and underwear.
It did – but it also contained 12 handbags hiding a quantity of ice.
The parcel was intercepted by the Australian Federal Police and replaced with an inert substance, with an AFP officer disguised as an Australia Post delivery person dropping it off.
Foster signed for the parcel as the non-existent “Jessica Roberts”.
While sentencing, Chief Justice Alan Blow noted the “impressive” steps she’d taken towards her rehabilitation, and was now employed helping counsel addicts by sharing her “lived experience”.
William Mark Hutchinson
An exhausted dad who stashed a bag of methamphetamine in his anus avoided a stint in jail for drug trafficking.
Colebrook man William Mark Hutchinson, 28, said he started taking the drug when his wife fell ill and he became full-time carer for their four children.
But as he became dependent on the substance, he started selling ice in order to fund his addiction.
The Supreme Court of Tasmania heard in February that police seized a total 35.16g of ice from Hutchinson during December 2020 and January 2021.
Justice Stephen Estcourt said based on an analysis of Hutchinson’s mobile phone and his admissions to police, the methamphetamine would have had a street value of between $12,000 to more than $52,000.
He said Hutchinson retrieved a bag containing 1.7g from his anus, with police also finding a clear snaplock bag with 11.9g of meth in a light cover attached to the ceiling.
Hutchinson pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in a controlled substance plus a number of summary offences, and was given a 15-month drug treatment order.
Janelle Maree McConnon
Launceston woman Janelle Maree McDonnon spiralled into drug use when the stress of caring for her elderly parents became too much – but her habit soon spun out of control.
Over a 10-week period in 2020, she sold almost $100,000 worth of the drug ice, ordering it from the “dark web” interstate and hiding it in household items like a birthday car, a power tool battery charger and a large 199.2g amount stashed inside a DVD player.
In February, the 45-year-old pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court of Tasmania to trafficking ice and a number of summary offences, including possessing ice, cannabis, and a glass smoking pipe.
A police officer disguised as an Australia Post delivery person gave her the package on June 1 that year, with police bursting in moments after to discover a gloved McConnon attempting to jimmy open the charger with a screwdriver.
Justice Robert Pearce said McConnon was a hard-worker with limited criminal history, and had been taking care of her elderly parents from 2016 – at which point an acquaintance offered her methamphetamine to help “manage stress and fatigue”.
He imposed a 15-month drug treatment order.
Robert Craig Williams
Robert Craig Williams started using drugs when he was just 13 years old – a habit that “graduated to more harmful and addictive substances” after his mother’s tragic death.
He resorted to crime, committing “many offences” and serving periods of imprisonment along the way.
The Supreme Court of Tasmania heard in February that police found Williams at his partner’s Launceston home during June 2020, discovering a total of 144.28g of meth in the kitchen and pantry.
“The methylamphetamine in your possession would potentially have returned between $37,000 and $43,000, depending on the quantity of the individual sales,” Justice Robert Pearce said while sentencing.
In his published comments on passing sentence, Justice Pearce said it was accepted Williams planned to use at least some of the meth himself.
“The sales you made were to a relatively small number of existing users within your circle of associates, and were to obtain funds to facilitate your own use,” he said.
“Your motivation was, at least in part, the misguided view that it was better to sell drugs than to commit other types of crime.”
The 37-year-old pleaded guilty to trafficking in a controlled substance, using methylamphetamine, possessing cannabis and possessing pseudoephedrine.
He was sentenced to an 18-month drug treatment order.
Kylie Ann Durban
A New South Wales woman who trafficked high volumes of the drug ice into the state via the Spirit of Tasmania was jailed just before Christmas last year.
Kylie Ann Durban, 49, was one of several couriers trafficking high volumes of methylamphetamine into Tasmania between February 22 and March 3 last year through a drug syndicate.
The Supreme Court of Tasmania heard that Durban and two other women planned to move 2kg of ice in five days.
Acting Justice David Porter said a surveillance device recorded the trio discussing payment, with Durban agreeing to a $20,000 cut.
They were intercepted at Deloraine in a Holden sedan, with a search uncovering almost $400,000 in cash, and a later search recovering three packages of ice weighing about 1.3kg.
“In a spare tyre, eight further cryovac bags of cash were found with an apparent total of $358,000,” Acting Justice Porter said.
In total $762,465 was seized.
The judge said sales from the meth recovered could have generated anywhere between $417,021 and $1,297,400.
Durban pleaded guilty to trafficking in a controlled substance, and was jailed for two years and 10 months.
She must serve half of the sentence before she is eligible for parole.
Anthony Trevor Sculthorpe
Anthony Trevor Sculthorpe ran his drug dealing enterprise on Snapchat – selling cannabis, MDMA, LSD and Xanax via an operation he referred to as “the shop”.
The Mt Nelson man, who now realises the “stupidity” of his behaviour, ran his shop between May 2018 and August 2020, selling to his online followers.
You did this by regularly advertising for sale, various controlled substances together with prices and images of the substances, on two Snapchat accounts that were operated by you,” Supreme Court of Tasmania judge Tamara Jago said.
“You had a number of followers and you would keep them informed of stock levels and opening times.”
Police observed Sculthorpe’s home address in August 21, 2020, noticing a number of people attending his home for a short period and then leaving.
“Later that day police executed a search warrant at your address. The following was found: 190.7 grams of cannabis, 75 tabs of LSD, 20 MDMA pills, 23.7 grams of MDMA and $9,050 in cash,” Justice Jago said.
She said more than a thousand deposits had been made to his bank accounts for the sale of drugs, totalling a total of $108,115.01
In her published comments on passing sentence, Justice Jago said the 42-year-old, who works as a casual rigger, had a strong employment history, but increasingly sold drugs after he was attacked and left with serious injuries and post traumatic stress disorder.
“The need to condemn such behaviour and send a clear message to others who may seek to profit from the wickedness of drug trafficking is high,” she said.
“However, you have taken a number of steps towards successful rehabilitation, which weigh against your immediate incarceration.”
Sculthorpe pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in a controlled substance, and was sentenced to a 16-month suspended jail term.
He must complete 100 hours of community service as part of a community correction order over the coming two years.
Sculthorpe must also pay a penalty of $99,065.01.
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