Two women who have been jailed for selling a commercial quantity of methamphetamine were described as "regional sales" representatives by the sentencing judge.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The women were arrested in 2016 as a result of a police investigation that involved phone intercepts between August and November 2015 targeting a Bathurst co-accused, who is yet to be sentenced.
A jury had previously found Renee Chantell Borg, 36, of Orange, guilty of supplying 333 grams of methamphetamine in 12 transactions after phone intercepts had tracked negotiations of money and drugs between Orange and Bathurst.
However, Borg claimed all she did was make phone calls, didn't handle the drugs and didn't know the drug was methamphetamine.
Kylie Jane Gray, 55, of Wellington, was found guilty of four transactions of larger amounts of drugs and cash, with the initial charge being for 340 grams of methamphetamine.
During her trial Gray had maintained she had sold were cannabis, not methamphetamine.
Both women appeared before Judge Sharron Norton for sentencing in Orange District Court last week.
Judge Norton said Gray "acted as a regional sales rep in Wellington" but said for both women the level of organisation and planning was "generally chaotic" and not sophisticated.
The judge said their involvement was to feed their own drug addictions.
"It was submitted that the operation lacked sophistication and only a low level of planning was undertaken," she said.
Borg was jailed for four years and six months and a non-parole period of two years and eight months but, with time served, will be eligible for parole on March 27, 2021.
Gray was given a five-year jail term with a three-year non-parole period. She will be eligible for parole on October 13, 2020.
Judge Norton said Borg was exposed to drug and alcohol abuse young and started using cannabis when she was 11 and methamphetamine when she was 17.
"She stated while in custody [on remand] she ceased using and wanted her life to be different," she said.
Judge Norton said while in jail Borg should take part in drug prevention programs and be referred to counselling services. She said Borg's previous employment as a traffic controller and stopping drug use were positive indicators for rehabilitation.
However, both women had been victims of domestic violence and had previous criminal convictions for drug related matters and Gray had failed drug tests while in custody after her bail was refused.
As a result, Judge Norton made it a condition of Gray's parole that she undergo urine testing.