A COUPLE found guilty of supplying heroin in Bathurst has been jailed.
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Robert Neal, 52, and Rebecca Small, 39 have been jailed for non-parole periods of three years and two years respectively after appearing before Judge Berman in the NSW District Court.
A third co-accused, Neil John Williams, who lived next door to the couple and was also involved supply of drugs, was bailed under s11 Crimes (Sentencing Procedure Act).
Handing down his sentence, Judge Berman detailed how in the latter half of 2015, Neal, Small and Williams were involved in a significant heroin supply operation in Bathurst.
Neal and Small would travel from Bathurst to Sydney to purchase heroin and they would arrange for Williams to distribute the heroin by selling it from his house.
Williams’ reward was he got to keep a portion of the heroin for his own use.
The activities of all three offenders were subject to significant surveillance by police, with Neal and Small arrested following a police pursuit. Small was arrested by police and Neal handed himself in a few days later.
Small and Neal were subsequently charged with supplying a prohibited drug, relating to 160 grams of heroin which they jointly supplied to Williams to on sell.
Neal was also charged with the supply of a further 56 grams of heroin and offering to supply a further ounce.
After their arrest police found a female acquaintance of Neal to be in possession of $143,000. The woman told police she’d found the money under the house of Neal’s next door neighbor after he told her where it was.
Police also found a shortened firearm and more than $5000 in cash in the house previously occupied by Neal.
Judge Berman said each of the offenders pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity to the charges, and for that received a 25 per cent discount on their sentence.
Neal was sentenced to a non-parole period of three years with a head sentence of five year to date from November 2, 2016. He will be eligible for parole on November 1, 2019.
Small was sentenced to a non-parole period of two years to date from August 3, 2017 with a head sentence of four years. Her non-parole period expires on August 2, 2019.
Judge Berman found it appropriate to give Williams a chance to demonstrate he is able to remain drug free once he leaves rehabilitation. He will be sentenced on December 14, 2018.
Crime Commander,with Chifley Police District, Detective Inspector Luke Rankin, said the investigation leading to the arrest was initiated after a number of heroin overdoses in the city.
“Their arrest was a good result and demonstrates the profit drug dealers make through the misery of others.”