Jailed drug trafficker to stay behind bars

A “NERVOUS” drug trafficker busted with more than $20,000 worth of ice has failed to convince a court to change his prison sentence.

Convicted trafficker Terry Johnson, who grew up in Geelong and is still connected to the area, couldn’t convince the Supreme Court of Victoria that his two-year sentence for trafficking a large quantity of a drug of dependence was “excessive”.

In refusing him leave to appeal the County Court’s decision, Supreme Court Justices Phillip Priest and Richard Niall said the quantity Johnson had for sale “remained significant”.

“Those who seek the apparent financial rewards associated with drug trafficking must know that they will be punished appropriately if detected,” Justices Priest and Niall wrote in their sentencing remarks.

Johnson, who pleaded guilty to trafficking in the drug of dependence in June 2022, was caught with 114.6 grams of methylamphetamine.

The County Court heard Johnson drew the attention of police in the Melbourne CBD when officers spotted two parked Suzuki motorbikes that had fraudulent registration plates attached.

Johnson became “nervous and edgy and made a number of attempts to drift away from the scene”, which tipped police off. Police noticed Johnson remove a sunglasses case from his jacket, place it on a window ledge and then tried to “shield the view of the glasses case” from the officers with his body.

Along with the ice found inside the case and stashed in his underpants, police uncovered a small amount of ecstasy and $690.

Johnson admitted to having an arrangement where he would sell a gram of ice for $200, give half to a supplier and keep $50.

The Supreme Court noted that “on his own figures”, the retail value of the drugs found on Johnson came to $23,000.

At the time of sentencing him, County Court Judge Michael Tinney said it was an “unmistakeably serious crime”.

“You knew you were placing your liberty in jeopardy. Of that I have no doubt at all. No doubt you were doing so as a result of the lure of what seemed at the time to be easy enough money,” he said.