Home detention for drug dealer

Buying a stolen laptop computer on social media landed a Taranaki man in court on drug dealing charges.

Benjamin Samuel O’Leary, 37, appeared before Judge Chris Sygrove in the New Plymouth District Court yesterday charged with supplying ecstasy, cannabis, receiving stolen goods and possessing stimulants and depressants.

O’Leary had previously pleaded guilty to the charges.

The police summary of facts states O’Leary had been contacted by an associate on Facebook who wanted to know if he was interested in buying a laptop.

During the conversation the associate stated the computer might be ‘‘hot’’, a common term for stolen property.

Police arrested the associate while investigating the stolen computer and analysed his phone where they discovered a group named 400:200 which was administered by O’Leary and others.

The group had been set up so O’Leary and his associates could supply each other with cannabis and other illicit drugs.

Between September 14 and October 26, O’Leary arranged to supply numerous members of the group with cannabis and ecstasy.

He would arrange to meet them at his home address, work address or would deliver.

Police executed a search warrant at his home.

They found 161 grams of cannabis, two ecstasy pills along with nine Ritalin and two Tramadol pills.

O’Leary admitted supplying associates with the drugs, usually selling cannabis in half ounces and stating he didn’t supply much ecstasy but tried to sell five at a time for $40 each.

He claimed the Ritalin and Tramadol were for personal use.

Defence lawyer Nathan Bourke said O’Leary was getting alcohol and drug counselling.

Sygrove described the offending as naive and said O’Leary was not a big time drug dealer and had no previous history for this type of offending.

He sentenced O’Leary to a total of nine months home detention on all charges.