Prison sentence for meth dealer
An Auckland woman found in possession of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine in Nelson has been jailed for three years.
Marlene Andersen, 56, was sentenced on six charges in the Nelson District Court last week, three relating to methamphetamine, two relating to cannabis and one charge of possessing an offensive weapon, a set of knuckledusters.
They related to an incident in Nelson in April 2017 when Andersen was arrested and subsequently searched. She was found to be in possession of 55 grams of meth and on drugs at the time.
Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield said Andersen’s life had been ruled by addiction. She had a significant criminal history and her life could be summed up as being one of abuse, neglect and addiction.
Mansfield said Andersen was willing to engage with rehabilitation services and until she was able to address her addiction she remained a high risk of reoffending.
Mansfield said support in the community would be critical once Andersen was released from prison. He said the offending was driven by addiction, as opposed to a lifestyle of financial gain.
‘‘She is now in the later stages of life and if she doesn’t engage now, she will simply have a much shorter life ahead.’’
He described Anderson as a low-level street dealer, disputing she was a commercial drug dealer, who sold drugs to feed her own ‘‘hideous addiction’’.
A summary of facts detailed how Andersen was at the NPD petrol station on Gladstone Rd on April 30, 2017. Police were called when a man showed up in an agitated state and Andersen locked herself in the toilet.
She was arrested for a separate matter and was taken to the Nelson Police Station where she was searched and a set of electronic scales, a large number of empty snap lock bags, two cellphones and $8910 in cash were uncovered. Andersen handed police a bag containing 5.3 grams of cannabis head before she was searched.
A further search uncovered three bags of methamphetamine, weighing 38 grams, 21 grams and 3.67 grams.
Testing by ESR revealed there was 55 grams of meth with a purity of 80 per cent.
In explanation, she said the bags of meth were the reason her partner was chasing her at the petrol station and she had hid them in her underwear.
As a result of the offending, police obtained Andersen’s text message data for the month of April which revealed daily transactions for selling meth and cannabis.
The messages made reference to ‘‘watermelon’’, ‘‘halfway’’, ‘‘1⁄2 spray can of green’’, ‘‘half a classroom of new school’’ and ‘‘boulder rocks’’.
Text messages in late April indicated that a person had stolen $70,000 from Andersen and she told an associate she owed $50,000 of that to her supplier. She expressed concern she would be ‘‘shot and dumped at sea’’ if she did not have the money to pay.
‘‘If she doesn’t engage [to treat her addiction] now, she will simply have a much shorter life ahead.’’ Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield
Judge Peter Butler said a pre-sentence report showed Andersen had battled a 27-year drug addiction with the inevitable result of selling drugs to fuel her addiction.
It noted she was at a high risk of reoffending unless a robust treatment programme was completed.
A psychologist’s report noted that Andersen had a poor upbringing, she had suffered a head injury early in life, she had a succession of broken relationships, little formal education and had been the victim of severe sexual abuse and family violence which Butler said he would take into account in sentencing.
Butler said Andersen’s 19 previous drug-related convictions painted the picture of addiction over a long period of time.
He sentenced Andersen to three years and three months in prison and made an order for the forfeiture of the cash, electronic scales and any other drug paraphernalia related to the drug transactions.