A drug cook and his accomplice, who produced a large quantity of methamphetamine oil at an isolated property near Braidwood, will be spending several years in jail after being sentenced by the New South Wales District Court.
Luke Drever, 40, and Kevin Reilly, 41, were arrested as part of a sting by a task force set up to investigate the clandestine lab.
The pair produced around 45 kilograms of methamphetamine oil and were just mopping up as police swooped in in January 2020.
Court hears Drever acted for 'financial gain'
Judge Robyn Tupman previously likened the meth lab in southern NSW to the TV show Breaking Bad.
She told the court it was hard to put a value on what the pair had produced because, depending on how it was processed, it could be worth between $4 million and $61 million.
She said it was clear there were others involved in some kind of syndicate and that the two men were not the decision-makers.
"It was an extensive drug manufacturing site," she said.
The site included several sheds, with one set up with roof vents, which Judge Tupman said had been used before and was to be used in the future.
"I accept from Mr Drever that by the time the police came to arrest them, the cooking process had ended and the offenders were cleaning up to leave," Judge Tupman said.
Drever was a qualified chemical engineer who had already spent time in jail for producing methamphetamine.
The court heard he was caught the first time after an explosion at his house.
He told the court he had been coerced into cooking the drugs by people he had met in jail.
But Judge Tupman was sceptical.
She said conversations captured by police on listening devices planted in the sheds told a different story.
"He is not presenting as being in the role of a reluctant participant," she said.
"He would appear to have had up-to-date knowledge and expertise."
Judge Tupman told the court Drever had been involved in the lab for financial gain, being paid $1,000 per kilogram produced.
Judge accepts expressions of remorse from both offenders
Judge Tupman said Reilly's motives and involvement had been less, although he had a significant role.
She said Reilly had had a deprived childhood, and she said that may have prompted him to take part for financial gain.
But Judge Tupman rejected his suggestions he had not known what was going on until late in the process, even when he arranged for a new shed to be built.
But Judge Tupman said she did accept expressions of remorse from both men.
Drever has been given a sentence of nine years and nine months in jail, with a non-parole period of six years.
Reilly has been given a lesser sentence of six years and nine months, with a non-parole period of four years.
Both men have been in custody since January 2020 when they were arrested.
