AN Albury drug-trafficker was sentenced to at least six months in jail yesterday after he sold $4500 worth of substandard amphetamine to an undercover police officer.
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Adam Troy Creek, also known as Adam Groves, pleaded guilty in the Wodonga Magistrates Court to 40 drugs, weapons and driving charges.
Magistrate John Murphy imposed a two-year jail term with a non-parole period of six months.
Mr Murphy warned Creek, 28, was facing up to four years in jail for what he described as “serious crimes”.
But by pleading guilty, and following a glowing report from his employer, Mr Murphy said the local boiler-maker was spared from more time behind bars.
“My task is to take into account the pleas of guilty, the question of deterrence not only for you but others in the community, the question of punishment and of rehabilitation,” he said.
“Without your pleas of guilty, and if you were found guilty, I would have sentenced you to three years’ imprisonment with a non-parole of 18 months.”
Before the sentence was handed down, Creek admitted to feeling ashamed of his actions.
“Ten months ago I was a bad person — I lived in a fantasy world,” he said.
“It wasn’t until I got dragged out of that I realised how screwed up it was.”
On four separate occasions in June and July last year, Creek sold varying quantities of amphetamine to an undercover officer.
The packages ranged from 1.9g to 28g in weight, and $450 to $2500 in value.
On one occasion, a woman customer unrelated to the police operation also bought 3.5g of amphetamine in the presence of the undercover officer.
The officer also bought a 50cm-long double-barrel, sawn-off shotgun, stolen from a farm in NSW during 2005, and also a crossbow from Creek.
On July 10, police raided a unit in Lawrence Street where Creek was living at the time.
They found $2250 cash, ammunition, battle axes, a sword, bongs, a recipe for pseudoephedrine and a backpack containing amphetamine.
Defence solicitor Greg Duncan argued that Creek was not a drug dealer of “any sophistication or substance”, with the level of purity of the amphetamine ranging from .08 to 3 per cent.
“What that suggests is this is not a sophisticated drug dealer with a substantial amount of drugs,” he said.
But Mr Murphy said the use of cutting agents was “probably common” among drug traffickers.
“They take your money and rip you off,” Mr Murphy said.
