Brothers held on coke rap
TWO brothers are being held in custody accused of trafficking cocaine from their Leopold share house.
Alec Butterfield, 21, who was arrested last week, appeared in Geelong Magistrates’ Court yesterday, while the court heard his brother Mitchell, 27, also faces charges.
Police raided their home on October 15, finding a safe in the younger brother’s bedroom, said police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Geoff Lamb.
He said it contained a list detailing alleged drug transactions and drugs, believed to be almost 13g of cocaine, 4g of amphetamine, 1.67g of crushed ecstasy, a suspicious liquid, and $1100 cash.
Investigators had found “significant correspondence” on Alec Butterfield’s phone “regarding the sale of drugs”.
“It appears on face value it (the alleged trafficking operation) is purely for profit,” SenConst Lamb said.
But defence lawyer Sarah Pratt said it was likely to be argued that Alec Butterfield was dealing to finance his own drug habit.
He lost an application for bail last week and Ms Pratt yesterday sought a sentence indication for him.
But he declined magistrate Cynthia Toose’s offer of a “short” jail term, likely to be followed by a community corrections order.
Ms Pratt said it was believed last week’s search was aimed at Mitchell Butterfield, but ended up in charges for her client.
The court heard the older sibling had also been charged in relation to the raid and other drug allegations.
Both brothers face counts of trafficking cocaine and other charges related to drug possession and possessing criminal proceeds.
Ms Toose noted that although the safe was found in Alec Butterfield’s bedroom he initially told police he had never seen it before.
“Trafficking any drug, let alone a variety of drugs, is a serious matter,” she said.
After he declined her sentence indication Butterfield was remanded in custody to return to court next Tuesday.