A young man who trafficked at least eight ounces of methamphetamine, worth up to $226,000 on the street, into Tasmania over six months has been jailed.
Zachary Donald Sherriff, 25, appeared before Justice Michael Brett in the Supreme Court last week, where he pleaded guilty to importing and selling meth between January and June 2024.
The court heard Sherriff started out dealing small amounts before moving on to larger quantities, making several trips to Melbourne to buy the drug.
On one trip aboard the Spirit of Tasmania, he brought his four-year-old son along while carrying two ounces of meth.
After falling out with his Melbourne supplier, Sherriff recruited a woman who owed him money to act as a courier.
She made at least four trips, smuggling drugs hidden in condoms inside her body.
Police arrested Sherriff at Launceston Airport on 26 June, when he turned up to collect the courier.
She was also taken into custody and to the Launceston General Hospital, where doctors removed two bags containing 37 grams of meth from her body.
A search of Sherriff’s home uncovered a modified shotgun with its serial number removed, kept in a bedroom cupboard alongside ammunition – violating a family violence order against him.
Justice Brett called it “an extremely serious example of the crime of trafficking”, saying Sherriff had significantly contributed to the supply of “an extremely harmful and addictive substance in the Tasmanian community”.
“Courts will not tolerate such conduct and those minded to act in a similar way must understand that the consequences will be severe,” he said.
The court was told Sherriff began using meth at 14 and has a criminal record dating back to the age of 11.
He was most recently employed as a retail assistant and had been working on rehabilitation, with child safety services allowing his child to return to his care part-time.
Sherriff will be eligible for parole after serving 18 months of his three-year sentence.
