July 25, 2013
An “inept” drug dealer sold cannabis to undercover police on three occasions but could not locate any LSD to sell, the District Court in Kingaroy was told today.
Luke John Thorp, 31, pleaded guilty to four counts of supplying drugs.
Crown Prosecutor Shauna Rankine did not proceed with an indictment for trafficking.
She said the charges followed an undercover police sting, “Operation Kilo Cougar”, run in Kingaroy in 2012.
Thorp was not the main target of this operation but became caught up in it, she said.
Police initially made contact with Thorp on April 26, 2012, in a Kingaroy hotel.
He later exchanged 3g of cannabis for $50 in a Kingaroy carpark.
At the time he indicated LSD was available but he would require some time to obtain it.
On April 28, the police communicated with him via text messages. This time they bought 27g of cannabis for $270. The exchange took place in a house near the corner of Kingaroy and Knight streets.
A few days later, on May 2, the officers contacted Thorp by text message again. This time they bought 221g of cannabis for $2000. The exchange took place in the same house.
On June 1, 2012, after the police requested LSD, Thorp said he would get the drug, but in the end, he wasn’t able to obtain it.
Barrister Kylie Hillard, for Thorp, said there was no clear evidence that Thorp had made any significant profit from the sales.
She said the count of supplying LSD referred to the act of being prepared to supply a dangerous drug.
“But he was quite inept at doing so because he couldn’t,” she said.
She said the offences occurred at a time of significant change in Thorp’s life.
After breaking his leg and not being able to work, his family had suffered financial difficulties, she said.
His wife had then left him and taken their baby. He had to sell the family home because of significant debts and “slipped into depression” and began drinking heavily and using drugs.
Ms Hillard said that since then he had managed to “pick himself up” and make a turnaround in his life and was back in full-time work.
Judge Gary Long warned Thorp the maximum penalty for supplying cannabis was 15 years’ imprisonment; for LSD it was 20 years.
“This type of offending brings with it an expectation that courts will impose sentences that act as a deterrent to it occurring,” he said.
He sentenced Thorp to a total of nine months jail but then suspended the sentence for two years.
