A promising young harness racing driver says he took illegal party drugs to keep up with the daily grind of racing and travel around the country.
Rising star Matthew Anderson used MDMA, a common recreational stimulant otherwise known as ecstasy, while chasing his dream of becoming the top young harness racing star in New Zealand.
The 27-year-old was caught up as a "by-product" arrest during Operation Inca - the 18-month race-fixing investigation into New Zealand's harness racing industry by the National Organised Crime Group.
Officers found that Anderson supplied drugs to others, including racing industry figures, between March 24 and August 20 last year.
After earlier admitting two charges of possessing Class B drugs for supply and supplying Class B drugs, Anderson's lawyer Allister Davis told Christchurch District Court that he was a naïve young man who got the drugs for himself, but also for peers who he looked up to.
Anderson was driven to source the stimulant drugs so he could continue to drive in circumstances where he would have otherwise tired easily, Davis said.
He was chasing the Junior Driver Premiership at the time, competing in races all over New Zealand, which involved a gruelling travel schedule, and doing up to four to six races at a meeting.
Matthew Anderson leaves Christchurch District Court after an earlier appearance.
"That was the catalyst for the offending," Davis said.
Judge Raoul Neave accepted it involved supplying "very small amounts" of MDMA to a circle of friends and associates.
He also noted that Operation Inca had not intended to focus on illegal drugs.
"These are not the crimes they were looking for," he said.
Davis sought a discharge without conviction.
Police opposed the application, with prosecutor Karyn South saying that a discharge for drug offending of this type would've been "very rare". She did, however, accept they were "by-product charges".
If he'd been convicted today, the industry's Racing Integrity Unit (RIU) would have automatically dished out a two-year suspension from driving or even attending race courses. And even though Anderson could have asked for an exemption to continue racing, his case likely wouldn't be heard until the end of January and he'd miss out on around $20,000 in earnings, with many race meetings scheduled between now and then, Davis said.
The RIU could still bring a prosecution and disqualify him.
Judge Neave granted the discharge, saying he was "sympathetic" to Anderson's plight. He said that a lengthy or permanent ban would be devastating for Anderson and out of proportion to what were "acts of relatively youthful folly".
"What started out as obtaining drugs to cope with pressures of his career, morphed in to a desire to assist those he may have wished to impress, and found himself caught up in something much bigger than him," the judge said.
Eleven people arrested during Operation Inca had their cases called at court today but it was adjourned to a further pre-trial callover on March 12. Some new charges were also laid today against three defendants.
Widespread suppression orders mean that for now their identities largely remain a secret while their cases go through the judicial system.
