A confessed addict was released from custody after he pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and receiving $40,000 in stolen goods in the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
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Benjamin Griffin, 26, faced a litany of charges for three separate incidents
The charges included firearms and driving offences.
“The accused said he does not sell drugs, but exchanges them for money,
- Police prosecutor
He was remanded in custody to appear in court, but was released on bail, ahead of his sentencing hearing on August 23.
Magistrate Ron Saines said Griffin would have until August 23 to prove he was tackling his drug addiction or face a return to jail.
“If you use this opportunity in the community to improve yourself and remain drug free, you will not be put back in jail,” he said.
Police were told in November last year that stolen goods, including two go karts on trailers and $40,000 of tools, were at Griffin’s property between Snake Valley and Smythesdale.
He also took police to where he had stored a stolen car delivered to his property.
The police prosecutor said Griffin claimed friends had delivered them and he did not know they were stolen.
“He said he didn’t think the trailers were stolen, possibly because he was using ice and not thinking right,” the prosecutor said.
“The accused stated he was made aware a stolen vehicle had been dropped off and decided to get it off his property.”
Griffin was also arrested while police executed a search warrant at an Albert Street address in Sebastopol.
Police searched his backpack and found a coded lock box that contained snap lock bags for ice.
A notebook with weights and costs of drugs was also found.
Police also searched his car and found a gun belt with 50 rounds of .22 ammunition and a large amount of cash.
In a third incident, he was seen driving a car with stolen number plates through a McDonald’s drive through in Lucas.
The plates were stolen between December 23-24 last year from a Redan residence.
The police prosecutor said Griffin claimed to have purchased drugs in bulk because it was cheaper.
“The accused said he does not sell drugs, but exchanges them for money,” she said.
Griffin’s defence counsel said his drug use started following the death of his father, with whom he was very close, in 2015.
She said Griffin would not associate with his past and would live with his mother in Horsham while on bail.
