Drugs $l40 a sachet—Crown

Press, 21 November 1978, Page 2

Drugs $l40 a sachet—Crown

After a cannister which was supposed to contain drugs was passed from a van to a car in the car-park of the Rolleston Hotel, there was a high speed chase and the car was eventually stopped in the Springston area. During the chase the cannister was thrown from the car, Mr Justice Somers and a jury were told in the Supreme Court yesterday. Martin Joseph Hickey, aged 36, who is described as a businessman, has pleaded not guilty to two alternative charges, of possession of morphine and cocaine for supply between April 10 and May 2, and of supplying morphine and cocaine to Terry Anthony Milne about April 12. Mr G. K. Panckhurst appears for the Crown and Mr P. Williams, of Auckland, and Mr M. Wilson, for Hickey. The hearing of evidence did not start until yesterday afternoon because the morning was taken up with an application by Mr Williams in the absence of the jury. The trial is expected to take at least three days.

Opening his case, Mr Panckhurst said that evidence would he given that Hickey asked Mr Milne, who lived at an isolated farm cottage in Chinnerys Road, Woodend, to store and sell a quantity of drugs on his behalf. In return Hickey was to write off a debt of $l7O owed to him by Mr Milne who was also to receive any profit he could for sales exceeding $l4O a sachet. After the drug squad raided Mr Milne’s home at Woodend he agreed to work with the police and arranged to hand over the cannister, which formerly had contained the drugs, to Hickey at Rolleston. The police re-

placed the drugs with glucose. When Hickey was stopped after the high-speed chase he told the police that at no stage had the drugs belonged to him, Mr Panckhurst said. Mr Milne, aged 21, a painter and decorator, said that in October, 1977, he moved into a house at Woodend. He had smoked cannabis and used heroin. After he entered into the arrangement to store the drugs he met Hickey at the comer of St Martins Road and Koromiko Street where Hickey gave him a small package containing drugs. Witness, a girl, Joanne, with whom he was living, and Hickey then drove to Woodend where Hickey unwrapped the package in the kitchen. Hickey was wearing gloves. There were about six plastic bags each containing about an ounce of heroin or cocaine. They “snorted” (sniffed) some of the drug that night and the rest was put in an airtight plastic container which was hidden in some disused sheds some distance from the house. About a week later Hickey arrived at Woodend in the early hours with a female companion. The drugs were brought into the house. Hickey emptied one of the plastic bags on to a breadboard and divided the drug up into segnients which were wrapped in pages from “Playboy” magazine. Those sachets were stored in a small jar. Witness continued dividing the drug after Hickey left.

On Hickey’s instructions the sachets were to be sold for $l4O each and Hickey was to receive $2500 for each ounce. Anything they obtained over that was to be theirs. Mr Milne said that about 15 sachets were sold and

about $l7OO was paid to Hickey. Ten sachets were also supplied to Christine Kane, a female friend of Hickey’s, after he had telephoned. The woman paid the money direct to Hickey. Sachets were also supplied to a male friend of Hickey’s named Chris. Hickey often made collect calls to Woodend using the false name of Smith. When Mr Milne arrived home on May 2, five policemen were waiting. They had found some drugs and a syringe and needles. After Detective Stebbings gave him a note stating that if he co-operated he would be charged only with having that portion of the drugs which was his, Mr Milne

said he showed him where the cannister was hidden. Mr Milne said he understood that under the agreement with Detective Stebbings he was only to be charged with having the syringe and needles and not with possession of the drugs, which were not his. Under police directions he handed the cannister which had contained the drugs back to Hickey at Rolleston. He signalled to Detective Stebbings that Hickey had the cannister by closing the back doors of the van. To Mr Williams Mr Milne denied that he had gone to a lot of trouble to implicate Hickey who had been a friend. He admitted that after the police had taken

possession of the cannister he had made several attempts to get Hickey to pick it up. Mr Milne conceded that he had been working in with the police who were trying to “set Hickey up,” and had been leading Hickey “up a gum tree.”

Mr Williams: What was the reason you actively assisted the police to set up a person who had been your friend?

Witness: I was not going to get done for something which was not mine. Mr Milne admitted that he gave evidence against Hickey so that he would not be charged with any offence relating to the powders.