A MAN who was operating a "drug bank" out of a shed at Heatherbrae and was arrested jumping through a window with nearly a kilogram of cocaine hidden in his pants has been jailed for a maximum of four years.
Brendan Hosking, now 33, was a long-term drug addict who had been in and out of jail for years when he agreed to hold a brick of cocaine for a major supplier in 2020.
But in September, after a domestic-related incident with his then girlfriend at East Maitland, the police came looking for him and saw him flee through the window of a shed in Giggins Road, Heatherbrae.
He was tackled to the ground and police found a brick of cocaine in his pants valued at between $220,000 and $280,000.
Hosking, who at the time was on parole for drug supply charges, was taken back to jail where he spent the next 13 months before he was granted bail to go into a residential rehabilitation centre.
Hosking pleaded guilty to supplying a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug and gave evidence in Newcastle District Court on Friday, telling Judge Roy Ellis that this time was different, that he had insight into his offending and was ready to make a meaningful change.
He also claimed he was just holding the brick of cocaine for someone else and hadn't purchased it himself intending to sell it and make a profit, an important distinction when it came time for Judge Ellis to determine his fate.
Under questioning, Hosking claimed he was essentially operating as a "drug bank" - he would take the risk of holding onto the drugs for someone higher up the chain and that person would call when they needed a quantity to sell to a customer.
In return, Hosking - who owed the dealer a significant drug debt - would be given cocaine to feed his habit.
"There is quite a difference in terms of the criminality," Judge Ellis said. "If he is the mastermind behind the kilogram of cocaine and distributing it to other people as distinct to him being used by someone up the line to avoid detection by having him run the risk of holding the drugs."
Ultimately, Judge Ellis could not be satisfied Hosking had bought the drugs in bulk and said the scenario he painted about operating as a "drug bank" or custodian of the cocaine was far more likely.
He jailed Hosking for a maximum of four years, with a non-parole of two years.
With time served, he will be eligible for parole in September 2023, when he will go back into a residential rehab for 12 months.
