A DRUG dealer facing life imprisonment for supplying a commercial quantity of drugs has avoided going to jail for now but has had his bail conditions tightened after a legal loophole was discovered.
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Marcus James Bruno Crane will now have to hand himself into police if he leaves or is kicked out of a drug rehabilitation centre as he awaits sentence for serious drug supply offences in Armidale.
The Director of Public Prosecutions tried to have 31-year-old Crane remanded in custody in Armidale District Court on Thursday afternoon - just weeks after admitting to dealing drugs.
“The offender has pleaded guilty to one of the most serious offences at law that carries life imprisonment,” DPP solicitor Sue Hynes said. She argued the strength of the prosecution case was “overwhelming because the guilt is acknowledged”.
The court heard Crane was granted Supreme Court bail in November to go to rehabilitation but Justice Peter Hidden, in granting release, didn’t specify what would happen if he leaves the program.
Ms Hynes argued that Crane was granted bail at a time when he was intending to defend the charges and was facing an 18-month to two-year trial wait.
She said that was at a time when he “was entitled to a presumption of innocence”.
“Those circumstances have changed significantly,” she said.
Crane has pleaded guilty to the large commercial supply of 611 grams of MDMA, 133.7 grams of MDA and 206 grams of methylamphetamine, or ice.
“There is no doubt he’s going to jail for sometime,” Judge Stephen Hanley told the court.
“It's a strong crown case, almost overwhelming.”
Crane was arrested in March, 2015, after one of the largest ever police stings undertaken in the New England.
Strike Force Ansae, an operation by Armidale detectives, spanned nine months and culminated in Crane’s arrest and extradition from Townsville, Queensland.
Crane appeared in court on Thursday afternoon supported by his father and the court heard he was “doing well” in rehabilitation but wasn't expected to complete the program until November.
Judge Hanley said he was concerned about a “hole” in the conditions set by the Supreme Court.
“It just says he's not to leave [rehab],” he said.
“What if he breaches the rules ... and is excluded or gets kicked out.
“The only thing I’m concerned about is the gap.” Crane will be sentenced later this year but Judge Hanley varied the bail, ordering him to surrender if he finishes or breaches rehab.