Prison and then the boot
Bad trip ahead due to drugs
A FOREIGN national who was caught with a trove of drugs and cash amid a police raid in Townsville has been jailed and risks deportation once released.
Police found hundreds of grams of pure methamphetamine when they searched an industrial shed in Garbutt in September 2020.
New Zealand man Stephen David Bentley, 56, faced Townsville Supreme Court on Tuesday where he was sentenced for aggravated drug possession and a string of other drug-related offences. Bentley came to the attention of police during a drug operation targeting the activities of a group of other people in Townsville.
The court was told police found more than 300 grams of pure meth, about 250 grams of marijuana and less than a gram of cocaine when they executed a search warrant at the shed. Crown prosecutor Monique Sheppard said officers found more than $39,000 cash alongside drug packaging items like scales and a cryovac machine.
Ms Sheppard asked the court to impose a sentence of between eight to nine years and said his punishment should not be reduced to counteract any potential impacts the sentence might have on his visa.
Defence barrister Justin
Greggery accepted the drug possession was for commercial purposes. He said his client suffered a serious back injury that would make his time behind bars “more onerous” and that he would likely face deportation following the proceedings.
“He will serve his time here with the knowledge of the inevitable decision to can
cel his … visa,” he said. Mr Greggery said Bentley had a years-long drug habit and made honest admissions to police when arrested.
While Bentley has a criminal history, prior to his arrest in September 2020 he had never been previously jailed.
Ms Sheppard said Bentley’s back condition was not an “overly relevant” matter
that would mitigate his sentence as it existed during the commission of the offences.
In sentencing, Justice David North said there was “overwhelming” evidence Bentley was involved in a commercial drug operation.
Bentley was given a head sentence of seven years.
He will be eligible to apply for parole in May 2024.