A Barrack Heights man has confessed to acting as an up-line supplier to an Illawarra drug syndicate selling high quality ice for five figure sums.
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David Dahl pleaded guilty to one count of supplying a commercial quantity of methylamphetamine on Monday morning, the day his trial had been due to start in Wollongong District Court.
The delayed confession came three and a half years after Dahl was arrested over the supply of 407.86 grams of ice, worth $126,850.
One of three police moles acted as the buyer on each occasion, exchanging up to $25,500 for up to three ounces of ice.
- Agreed police facts
An agreed set of facts tendered to the court on Monday said detectives attached to Strike Force Erola had begun monitoring Dahl’s associate, Nicholas Drougas, in October 2013 and first became aware of Dahl’s involvement early the following year.
Police provided one of their three informants, all of whom cannot be named for legal reasons, with $18,000 in “buy money” and kitted her out with a secret recording device before she went to Drougas’ Cassia Street home in Barrack Heights on January 5, where she met Drougas and another man, Terrence Strafford.
Strafford supplied the woman with an ounce (56 grams) of ice hidden inside a light bulb box, which he had sourced from Dahl.
Further deals took place on January 15, January 31, February 11, February 17, February 24 and finally on March 4.
One of the three police moles acted as the buyer on each occasion, exchanging up to $25,500 for up to three ounces (77 grams) of ice.
Before each deal, Dahl would direct his then-wife, Joanne, to drive to Sydney to obtain the drugs from an unknown supplier.
Dahl would then provide the drugs to Drougas or Strafford to on-sell to the police informants, who would usually meet at Drougas’ house.
The syndicate’s operations came to an abrupt end on April 30 when officers raided Dahl’s house.
They seized $1135 in cash, a bullet, two designer watches, four mobile phones and a host of papers containing names, addresses, weights and payment references.
The remainder of the group was arrested the following week.
Dahl will be sentenced at a later date.
