Customs men found LSD in envelope

Press, 9 November 1978, Page 5

Customs men found LSD in envelope

When police and Customs! officers searched a Spreydon house they found laboratoryi equipment used for themanufacture of cannabis oil,; Mr Justice Casey and a jury were told in the Supreme! Court yesterday. Jeffrey Graeme Weston, aged 22, a relief worker, has pleaded not guilty to alternative charges of importing, and attempting to import heroin between January 9 and June 30 and with attempting to import LSD between August 1 and 8. Mr G. K. Panckhurst appears for the Crown and Mr P. H. B. Hall for Weston. The trial is expected to finish today. Opening his case Mr Williamson said that on August 8 a letter from Australia addressed to “J. Westburn, 31 Simeon Street,” arrived at the overseas-letter depot in Moorhouse Avenue. The sender’s name on the back of , the letter was “F. Barnes.” A Customs officer decided that the letter should be checked and sent a notice to the address on the letter asking the person to contact him. On August 10 a man telephoned to say that noone by the name of Westburn lived at 31 Simeon Street and that he did not

[know the person who was ’supposed to have sent the ’letter.

: The Customs officer, Mr |W. J. Seguin, decided to i open the letter and he found ’a pice of cardboard taped to the last page. He suspected the cardboard contained LSD and handed it to the special insvestigations officer, Mr D. J. Blackmore. The next day Mr Black[more. Custom § and police [officers executed a search [warrant on 31 Simeon [Street where they met Westlon. They told him about the ■ letter from Australia and he [said that he was the person ■who had telephoned the department. While making a search of the house a letter dated December 17, 1977, apparently from the same person who had sent the one opened by the Customs Department, was found in Weston’s bedroom. It referred to the sending of smack (heroin) and suggested that Weston rent- a Post Office box so that the drug could be sent there rather than to his

'home address. He was advised to rent the box in another name.

Also found was a receipt; for a Post Office box rented in the name of P. Maloney,! keys for it, and receipts for money orders sent to Aus-j tralia for the purchase of I equipment to be used for the; making of cannabis oil.

Detective A. I. Vasta found a telegram which read: “Love is two-way, take care Mark.” Weston was taken to the Central Police Station where he made a statement in which he admitted that he had rented a Post Office box so that heroin for which he paid $llO a gram could be posted to him. It was opened in the name of P. Maloney and the “smack” was sent to him in a letter.

Asked about the August letter Weston said that he did not know that

acid (LSD) was arriving until he got the telegram. He had asked the person to send him a “trip” about a month before, Mr Williamson said.