A Dubbo man has fronted court after police busted him trying to smuggle the drug ice and syringes to a friend isolating for COVID-19 at the Dubbo Zoo last year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Matthew Raymond Walls attended the Savannah cabins at the Dubbo Zoo on August 25 when he was stopped by police at the front gate.
The 46-year-old had a bag of groceries from the supermarket he wanted to give to a friend. When questioned what was in the bag, he told officers it was "just razors, cigarettes, shampoo and conditioner" and gave them the receipt.
When asked if there was anything unlawful in the bag, he said no, he had just bought them.
Police said Walls had been involved in a similar situation the day prior where syringes were delivered to the woman staying at the zoo, court documents revealed.
After Walls left, officers searched the contents of the groceries. Inside the shampoo and conditioner bottles they found five empty syringes and a small packet attached with green electrical tape to one of them.
The package was unwrapped and inside revealed to be 0.5 grams of crystal meth.
A few days later police spoke to Walls who agreed to participate in an interview at Peak Hill police station, but he never attended.
Walls pleaded guilty to supplying a small quantity of drugs in Wellington Local Court last Tuesday.
Defence lawyer Toshi Weller-Wong conceded while dealing drugs was a serious offence, in this instance it fell at the lower end of objective seriousness.
"It's not something he received any financial benefit for, he was simply doing a favour for a friend," he told the court.
The court heard Walls had an "on and off" criminal record, however had no history of drug supply, which Mr Weller-Wong argued demonstrated this offence was an "aberration".
Magistrate Stephen Olischlager accepted the nature of the supply was at the lower end, and that Walls was not receiving any financial gain or was a part of any drug operation.
But as highlighted by the prosecution, Mr Olischlager said the Dubbo Zoo is a tourist place for families, and while it was being used as a quarantine facility, at the end of the day supplying drugs was "adding to the chain" of problems in the community and general deterrence was necessary.
Walls was convicted and sentenced to an 18-month supervised community corrections order.
Zaarkacha Marlan
Court and crime reporter at the Daily Liberal. Formerly the sole journalist for the Nyngan Observer, Narromine News and Trangie Advocate.
Court and crime reporter at the Daily Liberal. Formerly the sole journalist for the Nyngan Observer, Narromine News and Trangie Advocate.
