NSW Drug Suspect Denied Bail
The Dubbo Local Court magistrate has refused bail to a Surfers Paradise man caught with $64,000 worth of ecstasy pills in his car.
Magistrate Andrew Eckhold and prosecutors told the mother of suspect Mitchell Joe Hutchinson, 23, that her offer of up to $20,000 in liquid assets cannot be granted because of the gravity of the offense, overwhelming evidence and he was on a February bond.
"We have the drugs, the cash and the admissions of the accused," the prosecutor said, according to Dailyliberal.com.
Legal Aid NSW, which is representing the accused, conceded that it was a strong case and is likely to be sentenced to jail.
Hutchinson has been charged with supplying commercial quantity of prohibited drugs and knowingly dealing with proceeds of the crime. He was caught Tuesday with the drugs while driving in his black BMW sedan along the Newell Highway near Dubbo.
Police found 200 pills of ecstacy worth $4,000 on the suspect. Police also found two packages containing 2,000 ecstacy pills hidden in the car's roof lining. The hidden drugs have a street value of $60,000.
Also found on Hutchinson were five mobile phones and three boxes of resealable plastic bag.
The arrest and detention of Hutchinson was made after a tip-off to the Orana Highway Patrol.