A Wagga woman who was
convicted of dealing drugs in association with the notorious
Finks bikie gang has been given a suspended sentence.
Nicole Limbrick, 40, had
previously pleaded guilty to three counts of supplying the
drug methylamphetamine, also known as ice, between July and
December of 2016 in Kooringal.
Limbrick faced Wagga’s
District Court for sentencing on Thursday morning, and was
given two suspended sentences as well as a
two-and-a-half-year good behaviour bond for her crimes.
Michael King, Limbrick’s
defence lawyer, told the court that his client essentially
acted as a driver to her then-partner, who did not have a
licence at the time.
“She wasn’t a part of the
sales as such, she was a part of the using,” Mr King said.
“She was the transport, which
is pretty low-end of the range.”
The court heard that Limbrick
and her partner were busted as a result of a Riverina Police
District strike force set up to investigate organised drug
and firearms crimes being perpetrated by an “outlaw
motorcycle gang” –namely, the Finks.
More than 150
detectives executed 13 search warrants at properties in
Kooringal, Tolland, East Wagga, Ashmont, Glenfield Park,
Bomen, and Turvey Park over the course of their
investigations.
While Judge Gordon Lerve
accepted that Limbrick was unlikely to re-offend, he
stressed the court’s need to crack down on drug suppliers.
“Barely a day, let alone a
week, goes by where this court, either on appeal from the
Local Court or on indictment, deals with people who have
committed serious criminal offences under the influence of
methylamphetamine,” Judge Lerve said.
“That is why there is a very
real need for general deterrence for the supply of
prohibited drugs.”
Limbrick has entered into
residential drug rehabilitation programs on two occasions
over the past 14 months, with Judge Lerve noting that she
seemed to now be drug-free.
Other members of the Finks
bikie gang are still being prosecuted through the courts.
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