Five months' jail for cocaine haul

Jamie Centofanti, 36, flew in from Melbourne for MS Fest 2010 as part of headline act Sneaky Sound System's production crew.

The expert lighting design technician had just completed a nationwide tour with the Big Day Out music festival.

A police drug detection dog gave a positive reaction to Centofanti as he stood at a car rental counter inside Launceston Airport.

He was found to be carrying 17.7 grams of cocaine in 23 separate one-gram packages.

He told police he knew he had a gram in his pocket but said he had forgotten the remaining 22 bags were still in his carry-on luggage after a recent trip to Perth.

He said he did not intend to sell any of the high-grade cocaine, describing himself as a heavy user.

A Launceston Supreme Court jury failed to believe him, deliberating for half an hour before returning a unanimous guilty verdict yesterday to one count of drug trafficking.

In sentencing the father-of-one this morning, Justice Alan Blow said references tendered to the court showed Centofanti to be ``very highly regarded in the music industry''.

"There are a number of matters that count in your favour,'' the judge told him.

"Over the last few years you have given your time on a pro bono basis to assist with three major charity concerts.

"Even though you were apparently a long-term high-level user of cocaine, you stopped using it in February, got medical help, and worked diligently towards your rehabilitation.''

But Justice Blow said Centofanti also had a 1998 conviction for supplying a prohibited drug _ and therefore the only appropriate penalty was a prison term.

"I do not think I need to tell you how much harm cocaine can do to people,'' he said.