A BENDIGO man caught with four snap lock bags of the drug ice and $690 in cash hidden in his underwear has been sentenced to four months’ jail.
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Nicholas Galvin, 26, pleaded guilty in the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on Friday to trafficking a drug of dependence, possessing the suspected proceeds of crime and possession of ice.
During a raid on an Eaglehawk Road property on June 19, police uncovered 13 grams of ice with an estimated street value of $6500.
Prosecutor Senior Constable Martin Friend said Galvin admitted to possessing one snap lock bag of ice during the raid.
A body search found four more snap lock bags of ice in his underwear, along with $690 cash.
There was also a used pipe for the smoking of ice in the lounge room and electric scales.
Galvin was arrested and answered each police question with “no comment” answers.
Defence counsel John Whelan said Galvin had saved the court’s time by pleading guilty to the charges at the first possible occasion, which should be factored into his sentence.
He said Galvin’s life had “gone off the rails” in recent years after a series of family tragedies, including the death of his stepbrother from a drug overdose.
“He got in with this group of people (friend’s of his family member) and then got into ice use,” Mr Whelan said.
“The wheels have fallen off.”
Mr Whelan described Galvin as a “bottom feeder” in the ice chain, as five bags of ice was not a “large amount”.
The 13 grams is almost five times the traffickable amount.
Magistrate Richard Wright said instructions to magistrates indicated imprisonment should be considered a last resort, but it was warranted in Galvin’s case.
“Ice is something that is a scourge around here,” he said.
“It does terrible things to users and to dealers.
“It needs to be condemned at every opportunity.”
Galvin was sentenced to four months prison with a conviction and no community corrections order.