Jail with exit date lined up

THE ringleader of an international drug importation syndicate operating in the Torres Strait will likely spend several weeks in detention before being booted out of Australia.

Father-of-seven Scott Dylan Wyborn, 42, was sentenced to 2½ years’ jail in the Cairns District Court yesterday after pleaded guilty to importing about 4kg of cannabis from Papua New Guinea to the Far North last year.

The court heard the PNG man was the key figure in two deals in June and August last year.

He was arrested and charged after police raided a Torres Strait Islander man’s residence in August last year and found a mobile phone with incriminating text messages.

The first batch was described by Commonwealth prosecutor Anna Carlander as a “cannabis block” which weighed up to 800g and was worth about $1500.

Ms Carlander said the second shipment involved 160 medicine bags of cannabis hidden in a flower pot which weighed more than 3.3kg and were worth up to $16,000.

He also pleaded guilty to disobeying a lawful order after he refused to give access to his mobile phone despite being ordered to by a magistrate.

Defence barrister James Sheridan described the offending as “opportunistic” and done to support his large family.

“It certainly wasn’t to fund a lavish lifestyle, it was to eke out a living and provide for his family,” he said. Judge Dean Morzone ordered his release after 10 months.

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