Court hears Albury drug supplier Samuel Patrick Ryan had middleman organise deals with his customers

Samuel Patrick Ryan came under the attention of Wagga detectives through a special operation established to investigate the supply of illicit drugs across the Albury region.

Strike Force Schaeffer nabbed Ryan and a co-accused, the latter being the initial contact with two women - who police identified only as "witnesses" - who sought to buy cocaine.

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Defence lawyer Dane Keenes formally entered a plea of guilty on Ryan's behalf on Friday to a single charge of supplying a prohibited drug on an ongoing basis, between October 8 and 15, 2021.

With that, prosecutor Sergeant Andrew Coombs withdrew three back-up charges of supplying a prohibited drug.

Ryan, 24, of Kingsley Court, West Albury, was not in Albury Local Court, but must attend his sentencing on February 11.

Magistrate Sally McLaughlin said she would take into account an indicative guilty plea that was put before the court on January 31.

This would allow for a sentencing discount for Ryan's early plea.

The court was told how the two women met Ryan's 25-year-old co-accused at the SS&A Club on October 8 about 8pm.

He told them he could arrange for the women to be supplied with a "bag" of cocaine.

Police said a "bag" was a colloquial term for one gram of the drug.

The man then began communicating with his upline supplier to arrange the purchase of the drug.

About 9.35pm, the two women, the co-accused and another man went to a house in Fallon Street, North Albury.

"The accused supplied one of the female witnesses with the prohibited drug, after which the other female witness handed the accused $250."

One of the other deals, to the same women, was for two grams of cocaine for $600.

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