Bikie rats on ex-sniper boss to slash jail sentence by eight years

A BIKIE who helped an ex-Army sniper flood Mildura with the deadly drug ice has had more than eight years knocked off his sentence for ratting on his boss.

The violent criminal, who cannot be named due to a court-imposed gag order, was sentenced to four years and four months in jail with a non-parole period of just 30 months.

The bikie pleaded guilty to trafficking a commercial quantity of methamphetamine, and related drugs and violence charges.

 

The maximum penalty for the drug offence is 25 years in jail.

The County Court heard the man would have been given 13 years with a minimum of 10 years in jail had he not pleaded guilty and turned prosecution witness.

Ultimately, the former Rebels and Comanchero bikie was not even required to testify against his boss — a feared enforcer known as the “White Devil”.

Joshua Faulkhead, 39, of Mildura, is unlikely to be so lucky, despite pleading guilty to similar charges.

Judge Michael Bourke could hardly believe his ears when told of the discount.

“It is remarkable,’’ he said.

Faulkhead’s accomplice was among nine co-offenders to give evidence against the once-feared bikie boss.

Faulkhead pleaded guilty to one charge of trafficking a commercial quantity of ice and related drug, dishonesty and violence offences.

The court heard the Mildura native was the head of an evil drug syndicate controlled by the Comancheros in Sydney.

Crown prosecutor Kieran Gilligan said Faulkhead was tasked with overseeing the entire drug distribution operation in Mildura.

Once in control, the ruthless overlord would force his minions to undergo urine tests because he did not want his dealers taking drugs.

He then ordered a violent campaign against everyone he believed owed the syndicate money, bashing people in full view of dozens of witnesses.

Police claimed Faulkhead, a high-ranking member the Comancheros, terrorised people who owed drug debts by telling them he was an infamous Army sniper known as the “White Devil’’ by terrified Afghani villagers.

He was arrested in January last year after two men acting on his instructions were intercepted towing a vehicle that contained 282.4 grams of methamphetamine of 80 per cent purity and 131.8 grams of cocaine at 70 per cent purity.

The vehicle had been crashed by a drug fiend used by Faulkhead to courier cash and drugs to and from his Sydney suppliers.

The seized drugs had a street value of about $343,000.

Despite Faulkhead’s activities, forensic accountants were unable to locate his suspected drug fortune, finding just one suspicious bank deposit for $39,380.

Faulkhead’s barrister Peter Morrissey, SC, said his client was in it purely for the money, but should receive some clemency due to his services as an Australian soldier for six years.

“It has to matter that he fought for his country as a soldier,’’ he said.

The court heard Faulkhead did two tours in East Timor before being discharged for using steroids.

He went on to work as a private security escort in war torn Iraq and Afghanistan where he was paid as much as $5000 a week.

Mr Morrissey said Faulkhead suffered significant post traumatic stress due to his experiences in battle.

On returning to Australia as a personal trainer in Queensland, he was recruited by the Comancheros and soon turned to crime.

Faulkhead, who has already spent 610 days behind bars, will be sentenced at a date to be fixed.