AN ICE-ADDICTED drug dealer would receive a free “hit” once he sold enough drugs, Armidale District Court has heard.
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In giving evidence to the court Keith Collins, 40, said once he had sold five packets of ice, each worth $20, his suppliers would give him one for free.
“They gave me the stock to sell,” Collins said under cross-examination.
“Once I sold $100 of the packets – once I had sold five – that’s one for me.”
The father-of-four had pleaded guilty to six charges of supplying prohibited drugs and one of ongoing supply of drugs.
He and his co-accused Lance Dixon were caught as part of a police investigation into a methylamphetamine ring last year. They were caught selling drugs on multiple occasions while under surveillance by officers connected to Strike Force Romley.
The strike force was set up to uncover the illegal supply of drugs in Armidale, with the pair arrested following a year-long investigation.
Dixon is still awaiting his fate and will face sentencing in the local court on October 22.
Collins had been in jail for a year and will be eligible for release to parole in December after being sentenced to two years and two months imprisonment.
Judge Clive Jeffreys said it was his belief the crime was at the lower end of the scale and was mainly to feed Collins’ drug habit.
Collins had been receiving drug counselling from behind bars and said he wished he understood the consequences of taking drugs sooner.
“I deeply regret it,” he said.
“I wish I knew what I do now before I went to prison.”