The matriarch of an alleged Primbee crime family accused of dealing with thousands in drug profits has been cleared of her charges.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Janette Marsh, the wife and mother of Robert and Daniel Bojlevski, faced a hearing at Wollongong Local Court on Monday after she pleaded not guilty to supplying an indictable amount of cannabis and dealing with the proceeds of a crime.
Marsh was arrested at her Lakeview Parade home during October 2021, five weeks after her son and husband left in the back of caged police cars following a raid of their property.
The family and others were under investigation by Strike Force Axon, with the Bojlevskis flagged as alleged key players in an Illawarra drug operation. Robert, 51, and Daniel, 29, each face a raft of charges, with pleas yet to be entered.
Police had alleged Marsh was caught up in the drug ring and engaged in the supply of more than 2.5 kilograms of cannabis stored in a hot pink bag kept in the laundry.
It was also alleged she dealt with more than $22000 in drug profits, including by threading it through poker machines at Wests Illawarra.
Marsh took to the witness stand on Monday and told the court she was "absolutely shocked" when police appeared at the family home in 2021.
Footage of the search being executed was played in court, showing a police dog conducting an initial sweep of the premises.
In the master bedroom, police uncovered a wad of $50 notes stashed in a chest of drawers among men's underwear.
Documents in Marsh's name including two poker machine payout receipts to the value of $7000 and $8000 were also found, as well as four withdrawal receipts totalling more than $22000.
Marsh strongly denied the allegations, saying she only entered the laundry a few times per week and that her smoking habit had rid her of the ability to notice the smell of cannabis emanating from the room.
The thousands she gambled wasn't "drug money", Marsh added, and was from the sale of a $1 million property.
"Yes I went to the club," Marsh said.
"That was from my money, we had just sold a house not long ago ... I'm allowed to spend my money any way I want to."
Sgt Thackeray also argued an intercepted call where Robert said to Daniel "tell your mum not to tell on me" was a "telling line" that Marsh was aware of the alleged drug operation.
Marsh also denied this on the stand, adding she was also unaware of items uncovered at the property including digital scales, money counting machines and her son allegedly owning four phones.
Defence lawyer Patrick Schmidt argued Marsh's DNA wasn't found on the bag of cannabis, and that police had no reason to believe she was involved, as she wasn't an initial suspect.
"What we've got here is a mother and a wife that has gotten duped," Mr Schmidt said.
Magistrate Michael O'Brien said while it might seem unbelievable that Marsh would be unaware of the significant amount of cash stored at the home, he was not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that she was involved in supplying cannabis.
"Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until evidence is received to a standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt," Magistrate O'Brien said.
"That is a very high bar for the prosecution to meet.
"Whilst I have significant doubts about what transpired in the household, I am required to view the evidence clinically and dispassionately in my decision making process."
Marsh hugged her daughter as she was found not guilty of the two charges.
Read more Illawarra court and crime stories here.
Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
