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A mother of two convicted of conspiring to supply drugs in the six-week Operation Tsunami trial has been jailed for eight years.
Deborah Jan Gordon-Smith was the first of five people found guilty at the trial to be dealt with by Justice John Fogarty at the sentencing session which began today in the High Court at Christchurch.
She had been convicted of conspiracy to supply P or pure methamphetamine, supplying ecstasy, possession of ecstasy for supply, and supplying cannabis.
Defence counsel David Ruth said Gordon-Smith was an addict and it was difficult to be sure how much of the drugs she was dealing.
She had written to the court expressing her anxiety and her desire to do better in life.
Crown prosecutor Deidre Orchard said Gordon-Smith had made many purchases and was selling drugs to several people who were on-sellers.
Justice Fogarty told Gordon-Smith: "In many respects it would be better for you to be in society looking after your children than being in prison. Parliament has made it clear that drug dealers are to be sentenced quite severely because of the evil that is caused by the circulation of drugs in the community."
Boon Lim Chin was described by his lawyer Tony Greig as a wheeler-dealer, who dealt in jackets, paua, and methamphetamine according to the evidence.
Justice Fogarty said he accepted that Chin had a number of enterprises under way and at least some of them were legitimate so he made no order for forfeiture of $6000 cash that was found.
But he described Chin as a drug wholesaler involved in up to three methamphetamine deals at a time when he was in financial difficulty.
He jailed him for a total of six years six months for conspiracy to deal in methamphetamine and illegally dealing in paua, a charge Chin had admitted.
The sentencing of the other three prisoners was held over until tomorrow afternoon.
- NZPA
