A Katherine drug dealer is today in jail for selling cannabis and ice in the town.
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The Supreme Court heard Michael Phillips, 25, sold drugs to pay for his own addiction having starting using marijuana himself when he was 13 years old.
Phillips admitted charges of selling both cannabis and ice in Katherine from April until August 2017.
The court sentenced the man to two years and six months in jail.
“Without low-end drug dealers, the kingpins could not operate,” Justice Anthony Graham said.
“Drugs are destroying communities and the community itself, as I have said before, wants and requires that drug dealers be dealt with severely; though I accept in this case we are dealing with a low-end dealer.”
The court was told at the hearing on December 6 that Phillips had admitted two charges of selling drugs in Katherine.
From April until August 2017, Phillips was both a purchaser and supplier of both cannabis and methamphetamine in the Darwin and Katherine area, the court heard.
“However, it is conceded, as was clear from the documents that this must have been so, that it was not only during that time. His drug-dealing commenced before that,” Justice Graham said.
“In the way it often does, it started off in a very small-time way with him obtaining drugs largely for himself; and then later, to feed his habit, and I might say, himself, he sold drugs to other people.
“He is described in the criminal submissions as a low to mid-level dealer, typically purchasing a maximum of 1 to 2 pounds of cannabis and up to 7 grams of methamphetamine for a mixture of personal use and on-supply for commercial gain.”
Police seized two pounds of cannabis from him in Katherine valued at between $9000-$50,000.
Police were granted a warrant to intercept communications to and from the offender’s phone and track his motor vehicle, and from that, it led to the second charge of selling ice.
He was caught selling ice to a Katherine farmer – one sale for $1800 and the second for $3400.
After using a search warrant, police found a safe with $820 plus $735 cash in a bedroom of Phillips’ house.
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They also found an ice pipe, a blender with cannabis in it and a drug ledger.
Police also found some unregistered firearms and unsecured ammunition at the man’s house.
The court was told Phillips was a man of previous good character, having grown up in the Katherine region, being cared for by his parents who were station hands.
“He had a somewhat traumatic childhood in which he observed many incidents of physical domestic abuse, generally instigated by his mother,” Justice Graham said.
“He, too, was physically abused by his mother, particularly after his parents separated. He lived with his mother at first, but then later moved in with his father.”
The court was told Phillips began using marijuana when he was 13 up until being charged.
He started using methamphetamine from the age of 17 years and became addicted, the court was told.
A number of people gave character evidence on Phillips’ behalf to the court saying that despite his drug addiction he was a good worker.
“It does seem, on listening to the submissions and reading the various documents that he has little insight into his problems and little insight into the harm he does to others by selling drugs to them,” Justice Graham said.
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