A Falmouth man was surfing at a remote place on the East Coast when he spotted unusual activity on shore, the Supreme Court in Launceston heard.
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Shane Michael Hodge, 58, a regular at the surf spot, was not used to seeing anyone else around. He noticed the people stayed for some time and investigated.
When he found a very large drug crop comprising four compounds and he decided to help himself, defence lawyer Fran McCracken said.
Hodge pleaded guilty to a count of trafficking in a controlled substance namely cannabis between April 1 and August 18 2023.
Crown prosecutor James Thompson said that police called at Hodge's home to talk about an unrelated matter when he volunteered that he had some cannabis at another address.
When he took police to a caravan parked at a friend's house he removed panels and brackets behind which was stored 10 packages of rectangular bricks of cannabis wrapped in polystyrene.
The bricks were compressed and weighed between 1362 grams and 1410 grams.
Mr Thompson said the cannabis was valued between $108,000 and $130,00 if sold by the pound but up to $250,000 if sold in street size deals.
He said the bricks had pepper inside and had been sealed inside a storage area with silicon so that the smell would not escape and had mothballs to deter insects.
The court heard that the caravan, worth $63,000 belonged to Hodge but was registered and parked on a friend's property.
When interviewed by police Mr Hodge was asked if he intended to sell the drugs.
"I just don't know anyone to sell to," Mr Hodge said.
He told police he had financial troubles and hoped it would get him out of debt.
Mr Thompson said the caravan was tainted property and sought that it be seized.
Defence lawyer Fran McCracken said Hodge had volunteered to police that he had the cannabis.
"He was sick and tired of being in possession and did not not know what to do about it," she said.
Ms McCracken said he had no experience in trafficking.
Justice Robert Pearce frequently quizzed Ms McCracken about the submission saying that each cannabis package was of a remarkably consistent weight.
She said Hodge was a recreational user of cannabis and decided to take some across a number of visits.
"It's a lot, its fourteen kilograms of dried cannabis," Justice Pearce said.
"How much green cannabis do you need to get 14 kilograms of dried cannabis?."
Justice Pearce said that police photographs showed how meticulously it had been packed and sealed.
"You can sense my inquiry about this, I am looking at the intention to sell," Justice Pearce said.
Ms McCracken said there was utterly no evidence of any sales by Mr Hodge.
She said his intentions had clearly changed and that he had no concrete plan.
"He freaked out about what to do next," she said.
"He dried it, processed and then packaged it there must have been an intention to sell," Justice Pearce said.
He bailed Hodge for sentence on May 9.
Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
