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Mandurah man who had Eftpos machine to take payment for drugs sentenced to prison

Rachel FennerMandurah Coastal Times

A DISTRICT court Judge has described Western Australia as the worst in the world for methamphetamine during the sentencing of a 34-year-old Mandurah man.

Beau Darran Udell was sentenced in the district court yesterday for dealing methamphetamine.

The court heard that detectives searched Udell’s Greenfield’s home on July 10 last year.

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They seized 15.95 grams of methamphetamine and glass smoking implements located throughout the house.

During a strip search they found bags of methamphetamine concealed in his underwear.

He also possessed 9.29 grams of methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), a cutting agent used to dilute the purity of methamphetamine.

Udell was evicted from the house following the search and relocated to the Atrium Hotel.

On August 31, detectives performed a search warrant at the hotel and found Udell there in possession of 6.66 grams of meth, $305 cash and a portable Eftpos device.

Counsel for the accused described a long-term methamphetamine user who sold drugs to feed his own habit.

The court heard Udell had $10,861 in unpaid fines.

The offences breached a nine month suspended imprisonment order imposed in relation to driving offences.

Judge Philip Pierre McCann said Udell was paying money to support criminal gangs.

“On the latest available statistics Western Australia has 3.8 per cent of its population using methamphetamine,” he said.

“We are the world leaders. It is a disgrace. We are way ahead of all the other states.”

Judge McCann said the drug was being imported into Australia from China by the tonne.

He pointed out that the needle exchange in North Perth was giving away three-and-a-half-million needles a year.

“Some of those needles may not be used to inject methamphetamine but some of them might be used more than once,” he said.

“But if we were to say that every single one of those needles was used for one point of methamphetamine, we are talking about that needle exchange alone providing enough needles for 350kg of methamphetamine in the North Perth district.

“Reliable information from the Australian Crime Commission shows that the drug is being used in this state by the tonne per annum.”

Judge McCann said law enforcement could no longer stop the supply of methamphetamine or the importing of the drug from China.

“There is only one way we can stop this now and that is to target the users,” he said.

“The recreational users who make a fully informed decision that they are going to support the business model of the criminals that are doing all the damage.”

He sentenced Udell to two years in prison cumulative for two counts of possessing methamphetamine with intent to sell and supply, with time served and triggered the nine month suspended imprisonment order to be served concurrent.

Udell will be eligible for parole in August next year.