TWO Wagga drug pushers who sold fake ecstasy and ice to undercover police are likely to receive lesser sentences because they knew they were not selling prohibited drugs.
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Geoffrey William Kennedy and Todd Phillip Passlow will be sentenced by District Court judge Stephen Norrish after pleading guilty to ongoing supply of a prohibited drug.
Passlow sold rock salt pretending it was the drug ice three times, while Kennedy sold capsules full of paracetamol pretending it was ecstasy on a number of occasions.
However, on two occasions drugs sold by Passlow were ice.
The officers, who were part of an anti-drug operation called Strike Force Calyx, approached the pair for drugs and did not know they were being duped at the time.
During sentencing submissions for the pushers, Judge Norrish raised his eyebrows over some tactics used in Calyx said there was a real difference between police tapping into major drug supply networks and undercover officers making approaches to buy drugs from “opportunistic” drug users.
“You end up with people prepared to rip them off,” Judge Norrish said.
While questioning the efficacy of some of the Calyx arrests, Judge Norrish stressed he did not approve of the dealers’ actions and said he was sure Calyx got plenty of serious drug suppliers.
Kennedy and Passlow’s lawyer, David Barron, said in his submission to the judge a drug market was created or at least expanded by the undercover officers seeking out people to buy drugs from.
He said the fact his clients did not sell real drugs lessened the seriousness of that particular offending.
Wagga police commander, Superintendent Bob Noble, defended the effectiveness of Calyx and rejected any notion it grew the drug market or trapped people into committing crimes.
“If they blame police for their illegal actions I reject it out of hand,” Superintendent Noble said.
“If they are selling material they purport to be an illegal drug I would say their culpability is quite substantial.”
Mr Barron in court questioned Kennedy about selling fake ecstasy to an undercover officer.
“Did you seek him out or did he seek you out?” Mr Barron asked Kennedy.
“He sought me out,” Kennedy replied.
Passlow did sell some real ice to police, while all of Kennedy’s deals were rip-offs.
Kennedy will be sentenced on Friday, while Passlow will be sentenced next week.