A former chef who stored and delivered more than 4.5 kilograms of methylamphetamine and cocaine for a statewide crime syndicate has been jailed for more than four years.
The 34-year-old, who cannot be named, was sentenced in the Supreme Court of Tasmania on October 2 after pleading guilty to trafficking in a controlled substance.
The court also dealt with a summary charge of possessing cannabis.
Justice Stephen Estcourt said the drugs had an estimated street value of between $1.9 million and $2.1 million.
The court heard the man’s home was used to store drugs for the syndicate between April and November 2025.
Couriers dropped off large quantities of drugs, which he kept in his shed.
He received instructions through the encrypted app Threema to weigh, package and deliver them.
Police observed him making deliveries on multiple occasions. Some of the drugs were later sold in towns including Smithton, Stanley, Perth, Glenorchy and Brighton.
Tasmania Police and the Australian Federal Police formed a joint taskforce in February 2025 to investigate the syndicate. Several people were charged.
Police searched the man’s home on November 12, 2025, but found no drugs.
He admitted his role and said he was paid $250 to $300 a week, about $2,000 to $3,000 in total.
He told police he had been pressured to keep going. Prosecutors accepted he might have wanted to stop earlier but said he ultimately chose not to.
The court heard he spent most of his earnings on a cannabis addiction but did not use the drugs he handled.
Before this case, he had never been in custody and had two prior convictions for summary drug offences.
The man previously worked as a chef before moving into a painting apprenticeship when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the hospitality industry.
Justice Estcourt accepted defence submissions that the early plea showed “genuine acceptance of responsibility and remorse”. He applied a 25% discount for the plea.
The man was jailed for four years and three months, with the last 18 months suspended on condition he commit no offence punishable by imprisonment for two years after his release.
The sentence is backdated to September 4, when he was remanded in custody and he will be eligible for parole after 16 and a half months.
