No jail for Ballarat cocaine smuggler

AN INVERMAY man escaped a jail term yesterday after he was caught smuggling cocaine and cannabis into Victoria in his underwear.Matthew Hedt, 37, pleaded guilty at Ballarat Magistrates Court to trafficking and possessing cocaine and possessing cannabis after the Australian Federal Police arrested him at Melbourne Airport in September.Magistrate Kaye Robertson sentenced Hedt to five months' imprisonment to be served by way of an intensive corrections order.He will also be placed on a community based order for 18 months and was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service.Police Prosecutor Senior Constable Steve Kent said on Saturday, September 4, Hedt and a co-accused drove Hedt's Mercedes to the Tullamarine airport. They boarded a flight to Queensland where they collected a pre-ordered rental car.Senior Constable Kent said the pair stayed in Queensland for 23 hours before driving the hire car non-stop to Victoria, taking turns driving.They arrived about 9am on September 6 and returned the car where AFP officers were waiting for them and a search of the car was conducted.Although Hedt "strongly denied" having drugs on him, police sniffer dogs indicated there were drugs present, and police found a 12.2 gram bag of white powder and 1.2 grams of marijuana concealed in his underwear.A warrant was subsequently executed at Hedt's Invermay home and police found another 18 grams of marijuana. The amount of cocaine had an estimated street value of $5000, while the cannabis was valued at $350."Mr Hedt told police he found the cocaine on the floor of a night club," Senior Constable Kent said.Police yesterday applied to seize Hedt's Mercedes, but his father Geoffrey Hedt, director of Batch's Homemaker Centre in Wendouree, said the car was owned and financed by the company. Magistrate Kaye Robertson denied the application. Hedt's grandfather William Rasmussen gave evidence at yesterday's hearing, saying his grandson was no longer taking drugs and was embarrassed by the effect his offending had on his family. However in cross-examination Senior Constable Kent asked Mr Rasmussen why Hedt hadn't learnt from a previous conviction for trafficking ecstasy."We thought he'd learnt his lesson," Mr Rasmussen said. "I told him 'don't touch drugs', I tried to get that through to him. This time I can see a complete change in him, he looks fair dinkum."Defence counsel Sean Cash urged Ms Robertson to "do something constructive" with her sentencing. "The community is interested in his rehabilitation ... but he also needs to be punished," he said.Ms Robertson said she hoped Hedt recognised the significance of his offending. "It is a grave concern to me that you did not learn from your experience in 2001."