THE STORY
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On Friday 24 April, police from the Sydney City police area command stopped a Toyota Corolla on George Street. The officers spoke to the drivers of the vehicle where they located and seized four containers of gamma-butyrolactone (‘GHB’) which weighed more than 1.5 kilograms. The prohibited drug was allegedly found in a backpack which belonged to one of the passengers. GHB is also known as ‘liquid ecstasy’ or ‘fantasy’. To find out if a substance you have in your possession is prohibited, click here.
The passenger, a 37-year-old man, was arrested and taken to Day Street police station where he was later charged with supplying a prohibited drug (commercial quantity). He was refused bail and is due to appear at Central Local Court on Tuesday 28 April 2020.
The driver, who was a ride-share operator, was released pending further inquiries.
After further inquiries, police searched a home on Saturday 25 April 2020 in Glebe. Approximately one litre of liquid, suspected of being GHB, was located and seized. It is alleged that the occupants had been selling methylamphetamine. You can read the full story here.
THE LAW
In New South Wales, it is an offence to supply prohibited drugs pursuant to section 25 of The Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985. An offence of a prohibited drug supply carries a maximum penalty of 5,500 penalty units and/or life imprisonment. The Act prohibits the cultivation, manufacture, supply, possession and use of certain drugs. The definition of supply can be found in section 3 of the Act which states that supply includes the following:
- Sell and distribute;
- Agreeing to supply;
- Offering to supply;
- Keeping or having in possession for supply;
- Sending, forwarding, delivering or receiving for supply; or
- Authorising, directing, causing, suffering, permitting or attempting any of those acts or things.
In addition, supply on an ongoing basis is also an offence under Section 25A of the Act. The penalties of these offences can carry very severe penalties. The Act provides a schedule and an extensive list of the prohibited drugs as well as the amounts that fall under the quantities. The table below is an example of what the schedule looks like and the most commonly known drugs. Schedule 1 of The Act sets out the small quantity, traffickable quantity, indictable quantity, commercial quantity and large commercial quantities for each prohibited drug.
| Prohibited drug | Traffickable
Quantity |
Small Quantity | Indictable Quantity | Commercial Quantity | Large Commercial Quantity |
| Heroin | 3.0g | 1.0g | 5.0g | 250.0g | 1.0kg |
| Methylamphetamine also known as “ice” | 3.0g | 1.0g | 5.0g | 0.25kg | 0.5kg |
| MDMA also known as “ecstasy” | 3.0g | 0.8g | 5.0 | 0.5kg | 2.0kg |
| Cocaine | 3.0g | 1.0g | 5.0g | 250.0g | 1.0kg |
| Gamma Butyrolactone | 30.0g | 10.0.g | 50.0g | 1.0kg | 4.0kg |
| Cannabis Leaf | 300.g | 30.0g | 100.0 | 25.0kg | 100.0kg |
The penalties that a Court can impose for a supply of a prohibited drug charge include the following:
- Prison sentence;
- Intensive corrections order;
- Community corrections orders;
- Fine;
- Section 10A; or
- Conditional release order.
Where the amount exceeds the indictable quantity, the matter is strictly indictable and cannot be finalised in the Local Court. Where a matter is a strictly indictable offence, the matter goes to the District Court. If the amount does not exceed the indictable quantity, the matter will either be elected by the Director of Public Prosecutions or be dealt with the Local Court. Our website provides a considerable amount of information on drug supply.
WHAT NEXT?
If you have been charged with supply and or possession of a prohibited drug, National Criminal Lawyers can surely assist you. There are several ways to deal with your criminal matter. For instance, you may have a defence available should you wish to plead not guilty and take the matter to a defendant hearing. Alternatively, you can plead guilty and one of our criminal law specialists will make strong submissions on your behalf.
Call our office and speak to one of our criminal law specialists who will provide you with a free appointment and can help you understand the process, explore possible defences, discuss proven legal strategies and understand what the possible outcomes might be.