Sunshine Coast, Noosa drug traffickers or suppliers revealed
Nightclub bosses and one of the region’s top investigators have lifted the lid on the drug scene on the Sunshine Coast, as we name the region’s recent traffickers or suppliers busted.
Nightclub bosses have revealed their gravest fears for drug-taking partygoers as a lead detective vows to continue cracking down on drug traffickers, despite new ones ‘popping up’ after every arrest.
More than 20 drug trafficking offences have been recorded in the Sunshine Coast from January to August this year.
Sunshine Coast Police Detective Inspector Chris Toohey said combating drug dealing was an ongoing battle and whenever one was arrested another often “popped up” in their place.
“While we continue to do what we do, we do so in the knowledge they will be replaced but we certainly dent the trade within the Sunshine Coast district,” he said.
The detective said the Sunshine Coast relied on a tourism economy.
“We need to make the Sunshine Coast as uncomfortable as possible for organised crime to proceed,” Inspector Toohey said.
He said attacking organised crime at its “revenue stream”, the drug trade, was the best way to fight it.
“Besides the health implication of users using drugs, we also want to alleviate the social impact on the community,” the detective said.
Inspector Toohey said prosecution was important, as was seizing assets that came from the proceeds of crime.
“That tends to hurt them as much as any jail sentence they get,” he said.
Club and pub owners also have to deal with the behaviour associated with drugs and drug-taking at their venues.
A new and recent co-owner of Noosa’s the Rolling Rock, Ken Woods, has taken a tough stance on crime in his club following a recent assault outside his venue.
The co-owner of the club on Noosa’s glitter strip, Hastings St, said that drugs and drink-spiking, among other criminal activities, were all things “of the past” at the club.
“If anyone wants to test me and my team and they are caught, or if they are suspected they will be removed from the premises and the area – there will be minimum bans for drunken behaviour, but as for the rest it is zero tolerance,” he said.
“You will be barred for life.”
The club is undergoing a renovation this month and will be renamed Aqua Lounge and Nightclub.
The Post Office Bar owner John Calcino also has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to drugs at his venue.
The venue owner said his security guards and staff would look for telltale signs of drug use in patrons who were lining up outside the pub.
“They will pull them out of the line and tell them they won’t be able to get into the venue,” Mr Calcino said.
The owner said the “number one thing” he was afraid of was the health implications of someone mixing drugs with alcohol and having a reaction.
The venue owner said he was also pleased to be part of a safe night precinct and said one of the best things he had seen was a police dog squad from Brisbane monitoring the line outside his venue.
“The last time they did that, there was about half a dozen people they caught that had drugs in the line before they got into the venue,” he said.
“Some of the quantities were significant enough that they were dealing drugs.”
The owner said he was more concerned about drugs in his pub a few years ago.
“We’ve found there’s a lot less drug taking that we can see, we can monitor, and people are generally happy coming in and having a great time without the use of drugs.”
The following seven people have been convicted of supplying or trafficking dangerous drugs on the Sunshine Coast or Noosa in the last 12 months:
Trafficking
Marcus Les Wright
Former Rolling Rock nightclub owner Marcus Les Wright was jailed for five years after he used the Noosa venue to traffic cocaine.
Wright pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday, April 6, to one count each of trafficking dangerous drugs, possessing a phone used in a crime, and fraud.
The court was told Wright trafficked cocaine for 13 months, between April 2020 and May 2021, and purchased the drugs from a Victorian supplier.
Customers would then collect the drugs from the nightclub.
Lawyer Angus Edwards told the court his client’s life fell apart around 2018 when he discovered his father was having an affair with his wife.
Wright was sentenced to five years’ jail, but he will be released after 15 months and the remainder of his sentence will be suspended.
Wright has not appealed his sentence.
Jarra Hall
Young Mountain Creek man Jarra Hall, 20, took up a dodgy drug dealing business after he lost his driver’s licence and couldn’t keep working as a plaster delivery driver.
Hall pleaded guilty in the Maroochydore District Court on March 30 to trafficking, three charges of supplying drugs, possessing drugs, possessing property obtained from trafficking, possessing a thing used in the connection of trafficking drugs, possessing drug utensils and obstructing a police officer.
Court documents state Hall peddled marijuana and occasionally Xanax between January 31 and May 21, 2022, and had a client base mainly made up of drug dealers.
Defence barrister Robert Glenday said his client had difficulties with ADHD, had been badly assaulted previously and needed psychological assistance.
He was now medicated, Mr Glenday said, and was earning $567 a fortnight on Jobseeker while studying to be Youth Worker at TAFE.
He was sentenced to three years’ prison with an immediate parole release date.
He has not appealed his sentence.
Brooke Ashley Miller and Allister Charles Whatnall
Buderim couple Brooke Ashley Miller, 29, and Allister Charles Whatnall, 36, trafficked cannabis at street level out of their family home from August 2020 until they were undone in November 2021.
The pair appeared in the Maroochydore District Court on Thursday, May 4, where the court was told they referred to their illegal business as a “shop” and had up to 70 customers,
Whatnall’s defence barrister Kevin Kelso said it was his client’s idea to start trafficking after his work as a plasterer was affected by the pandemic. Miller was not working at the time.
The trafficking profits paid for the children’s expenses and to keep a roof over the family’s heads.
They pleaded guilty to possessing anything used in the commission of a crime, possessing drug utensils, possessing dangerous drugs, receiving or possessing property obtained from trafficking or supplying, and trafficking dangerous drugs.
Miller also pleaded guilty to contravening a police order to provide information about a digital device.
Whatnall was sentenced to three years’ jail with a parole release date of February 4, 2024. Miller was sentenced to three years’ prison with immediate parole.
Neither Miller nor Whatnall have appealed their sentences.
Supplying dangerous drugs:
Lewis Steven Donald Maxted
Sunshine Coast engineer Lewis Steven Donald Maxted dealt marijuana in Caloundra West 10 times between December 2021 and June 2022, with some transactions worth more than $1000.
He pleaded guilty in the Caloundra Magistrates Court on October 26, 2022, to 10 counts of supplying drugs, and possessing anything used in the commission of a crime
Caloundra Magistrates Court was told officers raided the 24-year-old’s unit on September 26 and seized his phone which showed the transactions.
Defence lawyer Meagan Ammann said the machinery engineer started buying drugs off the street because he couldn’t get his medical marijuana prescription filled at the pharmacy.
She said her client was then selling drugs on the side to pay for his personal supply and denied he was making a profit.
He was placed on probation for eight months.
He has not appealed his sentence.
Morgan Luke McCurly
Yandina boilermaker Morgan Luke McCurly supplied meth to people five times, and offered to sell it to someone once.
McCurley pleaded guilty in the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on October 18, 2022 to seven counts of supplying dangerous drugs, two counts of possessing a dangerous drug, fraud, possessing property having been used in connection with the commission of a drug offence, possessing utensils and receiving tainted property.
Three of the supplies involved an amount of 1.7g for $350, $450 and $500, two involved a supply of 0.5g, and one involved a $100 sale for an unknown amount.
The 36-year-old also supplied 108 strips of LSD for $1000.
McCurley’s defence barrister Nathan Turner said his client had turned to drug dealing after the breakdown of his marriage.
He was sentenced to 12 months’ jail but was released on immediate parole.
He has not appealed his sentence.
Cameron Robert Goode
Former Noosa real estate agent Cameron Robert Goode supplied cocaine 12 times over a six-month period.
He pleaded guilty in the Maroochydore District Court on November 28, 2022, to 12 counts of supplying cocaine.
On nine occasions Goode arranged or attempted to arrange sales of cocaine for a man and on three occasions he provided prospective customers’ contact details.
Three of the sale arrangements involved the sale of cocaine in quantities ranging from 1-3g at $350 per gram.
Goode received commercial benefit for his efforts either in $50 payments or a $50 deduction from his own outstanding debt with the man.
Defence solicitor Chelsea Emery said her client had the support of his family and was on the road to rehabilitation.
Judge Cash said Goode’s current parole eligibility date was set at June 7, 2023, and it would remain the same after he imposed 12 months prison for the offending.
He has not appealed his sentence.
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