A judge described it as “breathtaking” that a trafficker arrived at a Dandenong Drug Court appointment in a dubiously-obtained Landcruiser laden with meth and cash.
Shamit Naidu, 30, of Cranbourne South, pleaded guilty at Victorian County Court to drug trafficking, negligently dealing with proceeds of crime and resisting an emergency worker.
At the time of his arrest in September 2024, Naidu was on a drug court treatment order for similar offending.
He was approached by patrolling police, who recognised Naidu’s NSW-registered 4WD from a police circular that day.
The vehicle, with false number plates and a partially covered VIN, was obtained as part of a fraudulent motor-finance application scam.
There was no suggestion Naidu was part of the scam, sentencing judge Gabriele Cannon noted on 25 September.
Inside the car were a portable scale, three deal bags containing 68 grams worth of pure meth, $2500 cash, empty deal bags, a glass smoking pipe and other people’s bankcards.
“It is indeed breathtaking that you thought it appropriate to drive a car which was clearly not yours with false registration plates to a Drug Court appointment with that car containing a significant quantity of methamphetamine and other accoutrements of trafficking,” Judge Cannon stated.
The amount of meth was 45.5 times the traffickable threshold, and 1.36 times the commercial trafficking threshold of the drug in pure form.
At a nearby bus stop, Naidu kicked and thrashed out at police as they tried to handcuff him. Police deployed capsicum spray to subdue him.
In a police interview, he claimed he didn’t hear police identify themselves as police because he was on the phone.
“I just seen four people jumping on me … what would you do?”
Judge Cannon accepted the resisting of arrest was reckless rather than intentional.
Migrating to Australia at age 11, Naidu grew up in “significant family dysfunction”. He was said to battle mental health and drug issues.
A painful, serious motorcycle crash in 2021 had limited his ability to work and led to heavy meth abuse.
Judge Cannon noted that Naidu was dealing drugs at a street level partly to support his heavy addiction, as well as for financial gain.
She was told that he had abstained from drugs since his arrest, including a two-month stint in residential rehab.
His promising rehab was cut short when he was found with nicotine vapes. As a result, he was discharged and returned to remand custody.
In August, his drug treatment order was cancelled and he was resentenced to 263 days jail for previous offending.
Judge Cannon noted that Naidu, who is a permanent resident, faced likely deportation after his sentence. It was not appropriate to sentence him to less than 102 days jail to avoid mandatory deprtation, she said.
Naidu was jailed for three years, with a two-year non-parole period. It runs concurrently with his other jail term.
