Two men have been sentenced to eight years and six months' jail for trafficking and attempting to import MDMA into Launceston.
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Toby John Della Valle and Shea Alex Gibbling tried to import just under a kilogram of MDMA from Spain to Australia via the post from September 20 to October 6, 2017, but the parcel was intercepted by an Australian Border Force officer in Sydney.
Australian Federal Police officers replaced the MDMA with an identical salt and arranged for a controlled delivery of the parcel.
The parcel was addressed to Shea Hasting at Upper York Street in Launceston, but it was redirected by Della Valle to a Riverside house.
THE TRIAL
- Australian Border Force officer intercepts parcel with MDMA bound for Launceston
- MDMA found by police during Riverside raid returned “one of the highest readings”
- Della Valle acts "agitated" and "nervous" during police raid
- MDMA found during police operation have purity levels up to 70 per cent
- Jury verdict for Toby John Della Valle and Shea Alex Gibbling trial
A federal officer disguised as an Australia Post worker delivered the parcel to Gibbling, 35, at the Riverside house.
The disguised officer alerted fellow federal and state police members the parcel had been signed for by Gibbling and they descended on the house two-and-a-half minutes later.
Another two packets of MDMA were found during the raid - one in Gibbling's bedroom in a PVC pipe and the other in a roof cavity near Della Valle's bedroom.
Police also found $23,650 in cash in a safe in Della Valle’s bedroom and they seized two MacBook Airs from Gibbling's bedroom.
When police first encountered Della Valle, 29, inside the house the drug trafficker identified himself as Dean Emerson.
During sentencing, Justice Brian Martin said the MDMA the men tried to import was substantial and there was no doubt they intended to sell it.
"There is no evidence to suggest you were merely couriers for someone else," he said.
It was estimated if the confiscated MDMA was sold in the form it was found by police it would fetch up to $625,000.
The purity of the MDMA ranged from 74 per cent to 79 per cent.
Justice Martin said the conduct of both men was very serious criminal conduct and significant jails terms were required.
"It causes great misery and ruins lives," he said.
Both men have a non-parole period of four years.
