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HOBART - A man who reached down a rabbit burrow and pulled out 68 sachets of speed in front of a watching police officer in Tasmania has been cleared of drug trafficking.
But Justice Alan Blow said Robin Wayne Simpson, 54, was guilty of possession following his arrest at a park about 22km north of Hobart.
Justice Blow said he "had some hesitation" in believing Simpson's claim that he was trying to catch a rabbit for dinner.
"... But if you had known there were drugs in that burrow, I don't think you would have been stupid enough to go there, and take the parcel out of the burrow where it was hidden, when the police were nearby, obviously recovering a stolen car."
Justice Blow accepted Simpson knew nothing of the drugs, but said he did not want to part with them once found.
"In my view, you are guilty of possession on the basis that.
"Once you opened the parcel and found what was inside, you did not want to give it up even though a police officer was watching you, and you held on to some of it for a very short time," he said in Tasmania's Supreme Court yesterday.
Simpson was convicted and fined A$50 ($56) for possession.
- AAP
