Coke crim caught out in undercover sting

UNDERCOVER police have busted a business owner selling cocaine in Lara.

Craig Weir, 39, of Mordialloc, appeared before Geelong Magistrates Court on Friday and pleaded guilty to drug possession and trafficking.

The court heard undercover officers arrived at the home of Lara man Bryce Goette in mid-August 2021, telling him they wanted to buy drugs.

Weir admitted supplying 28g of cocaine to undercover officers via Goette for $9500.

The following month Weir left a package – later revealed to contain 99g of cocaine – with an associate in Werribee.

A police search of his Mordialloc home later revealed 13g of cocaine in a bedside table.

He was arrested, gave a nocomment interview and was later released on bail.

Criminal defence lawyer Mark Martoccia argued his client had become stuck in a “vicious cycle of addiction”, and had started dealing drugs to fund his habit.

He said Weir had since sought help from professionals, had the support of his family and had tested negative for drugs in the months since his arrest. “This isn’t low-level dealing,” Mr Martoccia admitted.

Magistrate John Bentley warned there was a “substantial” amount of cocaine involved in the charges, and that a sentence combining a community corrections order and imprisonment could be on the cards.

He ordered Weir undergo assessment for a community corrections order.

Goette was sentenced to a three-month prison term with 31 days marked as time served in late October but he was told the remaining two months might be “substantially” decreased by prison lockdown discounts.

He also received a 15month community corrections order.

Weir will be sentenced on November 16.