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Joondalup court: mother of two strapped meth filled balloons to chest to smuggle into Casuarina prison

Mark DonaldsonJoondalup Times

A YOUNG mother sobbed uncontrollably and repeatedly cried out “I can’t do jail” after a Joondalup magistrate imprisoned her for attempting to smuggle methamphetamine into Casuarina prison.

Mother-of-two Rahni Rose May Clark, who turns 20 this year, was sentenced today to an immediate term of six months in jail after pleading guilty to possession of drugs with intent to sell or supply.

The court heard the Gabbadah resident strapped balloons containing 1g of methamphetamine to her chest in an attempt to give the drug to her partner, who was a prisoner, about 3pm on November 18.

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The balloons were discovered after she was searched by staff.

The man was the father of her two children.

Her lawyer outlined a concerning history of methamphetamine use, which began when Clark was 12.

She said she had a volatile relationship with her partner.

Clark’s lawyer pushed for a community-based sentence given her client’s difficult personal circumstances and the fact she had engaged with a drug diversion program.

“I do not think we’ve come to the last resort of imprisonment,” she said.

But Magistrate Gregory Benn said, “the seriousness of this offence cannot be overstated”.

He told Clark, by his understanding, she did not commit the crime out of fear of her partner, but to “maintain the relationship”.

He said there was no worse a drug than methamphetamine in a prison because of its association with violence.

“It places many people at risk,” he said.

“The only appropriate penalty is a term of imprisonment.”

Clark was distraught as she was led into custody by security.

She was also fined $500 for possession of methamphetamine after police found her with a syringe containing the drug when they were responding to a disturbance at a home on September 3.

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