PROFILE OF A JUNIOR DRUG LORD
FROM high school teen to junior drug lord, Thornton Sellick built a marijuana empire through his Facebook account.
The 20-year-old Robina man yesterday walked free from the Southport District Court after admitting to supplying a 16-yearold schoolgirl drugs in November last year.
Crown prosecutors told the court Sellick had made nearly $3000 in a month by selling marijuana to schoolchildren.
He pleaded guilty to 12 charges, including trafficking dangerous drugs and supply of drugs to a minor under 16 and was given an 18-month suspended sentence with a two-year probation period.
Chief Judge Kerry O’Brien let the young criminal off with a slap on the wrist but warned Sellick he was “playing a dangerous game”.
“I don’t want to set him up to fail and he seems to be progressing rather well,” Judge O’Brien told the defence counsel before turning his attention towards Sellick.
“You are playing a dangerous game indeed. People who live by this trade go to prison,” he said. “I do acknowledge that without your co-operation some of those charges would not have been substantiated.
“I also recognise you did not introduce the minor to cannabis which is an important distinction.”
The court heard Sellick would organise drug deals on his Facebook account which police accessed through his phone.
His drug empire came tumbling down when police saw him riding a bicycle along University Drive, Varsity Lakes, without a helmet.
Rapid Action Patrol officers issued him a $110 ticket for the helmet but an eagle-eyed officer noticed a large bulge in his pants.
When they searched the then 19-year-old they found a 202g packet of cannabis shoved down the front of his pants.
The package was meant for a 16-year-old schoolgirl who had made an order through Facebook.
When police searched Sellick’s family home they found stolen goods and a further 313g of marijuana.
Sellick’s defence told the court he had enrolled in a Youth Outreach program and had stopped using drugs.