A Southern Highlands hairdresser stands to spend up to 20 years in jail after she allegedly sold cocaine to undercover officers and bragged about her newfound success as a drug dealer in letters now in the hands of police.
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Police will allege Mikaela Turner ran a supply operation out of her Moss Vale home salon, providing 11.54 grams of cocaine and 0.27 grams of MDMA to an undercover officer over a two-week period in April.
Police later listened in to her phone calls for more than two weeks as she allegedly did deals "on an almost daily" basis, then swooped on her home on Friday, seizing drugs, $3500 cash and firearm ammunition.
They also found ledgers and letters, allegedly in Turner's handwriting and intended for her incarcerated boyfriend, Joshua Jennings.
"In the past three weeks I've been killing it!" she allegedly wrote.
"I've been taking others' business and I know they're not happy. Didn't realise how ... these people are. Apparently there [are] rules haha. I laugh because at the end of the day it's a JOB and I'll go wherever the Pearl goes and well the people make up their own mind who they wanna see ... I'm seen as a huge threat at the moment! Love Molly."
In Wollongong Local Court on Monday, Turner claimed the letter referred to her legal success.
"I was talking about my hairdressing," she said.
But Magistrate Michael Love noted the term 'Pearl' referred to cocaine.
The 25-year-old whimpered, shook and sobbed through a lengthy appearance as her lawyer argued in vain for bail.
She grew wide-eyed when the prosecutor revealed she could spend up to two decades in prison.
At one point Magistrate Michael Love asked her to be quiet.
"Miss Turner, you're going to need to control yourself," he said.
"I'm sorry," she said, in a small voice.
Jennings was arrested for unrelated matters at the end of March and was in jail when police began circling his girlfriend as part of Strike Force Grantown, which was established in February to investigate the supply of drugs in the Southern Highlands.
Police will allege Turner sold cocaine to an undercover officer five times, for sums of up to $1400, after arranging meet-ups on WhatsApp.
On her fifth encounter with the officer, she allegedly offered up different drugs unprompted, including MDMA pills and capsules, liquid GBL, ice and cannabis. She allegedly gifted the officer a free MDMA tablet shaped like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, and later sent him a price list.
Jennings was stopped in a car on Friday afternoon with $5500 allegedly on him. He was arrested and charged with five offences, and was granted bail on Saturday.
Police confronted Turner at the Moss Vale home soon afterwards. They allegedly found a client there, with 17 MDMA turtle-shaped pills on him. Police also seized two one-gram bags of cocaine, 100 more pills and four boxes of .22 calibre-ammunition from the property. Turner faces 17 charges.
Refusing bail on Monday, Magistrate Love said she faced a strong prosecution case.
"This accused is not a minor player," he said.
"I agtree with the prosecution submission that [if convicted] she's likely to recieve a lengthy custodial sentence."
The matter returns to court next month.
Angela Thompson
Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2008; these days covering crime and justice issues. UOW alum. Thrilled by the chase and sobered by some of the things I see and hear when I stand still - sometimes in the same day. ang.thompson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2008; these days covering crime and justice issues. UOW alum. Thrilled by the chase and sobered by some of the things I see and hear when I stand still - sometimes in the same day. ang.thompson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
