Huge meth habit led to ‘substantial’ drug racket
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A MIDDLE-AGED man who was using up to $1000 of methamphetamine a day turned to a life of crime to support the addiction.
Brett Wayne Blanchard, 43, trafficked drugs for five months between May and October 2019 to 45 customers.
The Townsville District Court heard Blanchard’s offending initially came to light after his drug supplier was identified by police.
On May 22, 2019, police attended a Townsville property in relation to a disturbance report where they located Blanchard.
Police found 50g of methamphetamine, 744g of marijuana, $5500 cash as well as glass pipes and digital scales in a car on the property.
The next day, police conducted a search warrant at Blanchard’s address in Kelso.
The court heard police found less than a gram of methamphetamine and 14g of marijuana.
A tick list was also found that revealed Blanchard was owed $11,000 from 14 customers.
Blanchard was arrested after the raid and granted watch-house bail later that day.
On September 27, police forced entry to chard’s address at Kelso.
The court heard police found 1.3kg of marijuana in a brown suitcase, nunchucks, a 2019, Blan
money-counting machine and a safe containing $30,000 and jewellery.
A tick sheet found revealed Blanchard was owed $26,000 from 31 customers.
Crown prosecutor Monique Sheppard said police returned to Blanchard’s Kelso property 20 days later.
“Blanchard was at the back of the property in the yard and police had to force entry to the address,” she said.
“It seems the bulk of the methamphetamine that was found in the defendant’s possession had been thrown over to neighbouring yards.”
Ms Sheppard said police uncovered 43g of methamphetamine, 455g of marijuana, 2.5g of cocaine, $4800 cash and a tick sheet showing $2500 worth of debts.
Blanchard pleaded guilty to 30 charges including drug trafficking and possession of a weapon.
Defence barrister Harvey Walters said his client was selfemployed and “developed an addiction in a short amount of time” to methamphetamine.
“My client’s addiction became very strong. He was using up to $1000 a day of methamphetamine and he used up all his life savings initially in relation to using the drug,” he said.
“Then he was driven, your honour, to keep carrying out the business to keep supplying himself with the drug.”
Justice David North told Blanchard his “operation was sophisticated”.
“You had a large client base and at different times and repeatedly were found in possession of large quantities of drugs and money,” he said.
“Yours was no hand-tomouth street-level trafficking existence, you were supplying drugs such as methamphetamine in substantial quantities to persons who were further expected to disseminate the drugs.”
After declaring the 503 days spent in pre-sentence custody as time already served, Justice North sentenced Blanchard to six and a half years’ jail.
A parole eligibility date was set at October 17 this year.
A FIRST Nations disaster management hub in Townsville is a step closer to development after being awarded a $500,000 research grant from BHP’S Vital Resources Fund.
The hub has been proposed by Cquniversity.
Cquniversity’s deputy vice-president of Indigenous engagement, Professor Adrian Miller, said the funding provided a foundation for development of the hub.
“Thanks to BHP’S support, the Office of Indigenous Engagement will undertake research to gain valuable insights into priority areas of disaster management that affect First Nations populations,” Prof Miller said.
“This funding boost will allow us to appoint four research positions.”
The First Nations National Disaster Management Hub will be based at Cquniversity’s Townsville City campus and will lead to the development of a centre for emergency and disaster management for First Nations communities.
“Our purpose is to plan for, and respond to, the impact of disasters caused by natural or human-induced hazards as well as environmental, technological and biological hazards,” Prof Miller said.
“This will be achieved through innovative, multidisciplinary research with academic, industry and government institutions locally, statewide, nationally and internationally.”
Prof Miller said the creation of the hub was motivated by the impact of COVID-19 and its potential to devastate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
“This project aims to evaluate local government disaster management plans impacting First Nations communities and to identify key challenges and gaps that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, while understanding disaster risk in First Nations communities caused by natural events, human-induced hazards and health hazards,” he said.
BHP Mitsui Coal and NSW Energy Coal asset president Elsabe Muller said BHP was proud to partner with CQU to establish Australia’s first disaster management hub for First Nations people.
“This important project will empower and equip First Nations communities to better respond to disasters in the future,” Ms Muller said.
BHP Mitsubishi Alliance asset president James Palmer said the Vital Resources Fund was delivering support to the people and communities who needed it most.
“Through this project we aim to contribute to the social and cultural support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – a key commitment in our Reconciliation Action Plan,” he said.
POLICE have called for calm after nine people were stabbed at a “chaotic” party in a short-term Melbourne CBD rental early on Monday morning.
One of the victims, a 19year-old Dandenong North man, was rushed to hospital in a critical condition. Police are investigating and are wary of “reprisal” attacks.
The injured teen flagged down police just after 2am at Southern Cross station, a few hundred metres from the apartment where he’d attended a party of “upwards of 50” people.
Police believe a fight broke out at the party and spilt out into the elevator and foyer, which were also declared crime scenes.
They suspect there were multiple alleged attackers and they knew their victims.
Eight more male victims, including three 17-year-olds, were linked to the fight after they went to various Melbourne hospitals for nonlife-threatening injuries.
Police are yet to make an arrest or find any weapons and believe the offenders had already fled when they arrived at the party.
Commander Darren
Franks said attendees were “young people of African appearance”.
He said it “wasn’t overstating the situation” to say police were worried about retaliation.