Teen dealer escapes jail

A TEENAGE drug trafficker who spent a year selling cannabis to his friends and colleagues will not serve any time behind bars.

Cairns man Matthew William Northage was 19 when he began dealing significant quantities of the drug to support his own habit. The now 21year-old was sentenced to two years jail fully suspended in the Cairns District Court after pleading guilty to trafficking and two minor drug-related offences.

The court heard the fulltime painter operated his business between December 2018 and December 2019.

Judge Dean Morzone said he had sold drugs on about 40 separate occasions to a customer base of about 10 people, who were friends and colleagues.

He said his profit was about $1000 per pound – or 0.45kg.

Crown prosecutor Tegan Grasso said it was only in “exceptional circumstances” that someone convicted of trafficking not serve any actual jail time.

But defence solicitor Phil Bovey argued his client’s young age, his co-operation with police following his arrest, his work history and his rehabilitation efforts – including being drug free for 16 months – should work in his favour.

The court heard he was forthcoming and “made significant admissions” to police, although the data on his mobile phone would still have provided strong evidence.

Judge Morzone said he was driven by his own drug addiction, but the business required “a degree of professionalism and planning”.

“Your offending is of a type when young people have reduced their awareness of the danger (of cannabis),” he said.

“It was probably your natural intelligence with business that saw you offending sinisterly here. You were motivated by use and the need to fund, which was then beyond your means and resources.”