A New Zealand man has been jailed in Perth for his involvement in the theft of 100 kilograms of explosives which were to be sold on the black market to a criminal organisation.
Photo: 123rf.com
The explosives and five detonators were found on the back seat of Joshua James Preece's car when he was stopped by police in Northam in May 2015.
The Perth Magistrates Court was told the material was stolen by another man from a minesite near Kambalda and he hid it in nearby bushland so Preece could collect it.
The court heard there was a plan to sell the explosives for $A120,000 to what was described as a "criminal organisation" in the eastern states, which Preece had wanted to join.
A previous court hearing was told the criminal organisation was a bikie gang.
His lawyer, Sam Vandongen SC, said that at the time Preece was "in the middle of a raging methylamphetamine problem" and had become involved in the offences because he was told the explosives were going to be used for prospecting.
He only later became aware of the plan to sell them on the black market, although he believed the explosives were worth only $A40,000.
Mr Vandongen said his client was now genuinely remorseful and extremely embarrassed about what he had done.
"He has genuine insight into the potential for the explosives to have found their way into the wrong hands," he said.
Mr Vandongen also said Preece spent seven months in custody after his arrest, and his ideals about being accepted into a criminal organisation had been completely shattered during this time.
He urged Chief Magistrate Steven Heath to impose a suspended jail term saying the mineworker who stole the explosives was given an eight-month suspended sentence, while Preece's former girlfriend, who was in the car with him when it was stopped at Northam, was placed on a 12-month intensive supervision order.
In sentencing, Mr Heath described Preece's offending as "a sad tale" saying he had come to Western Australia to work in the mining industry but had ended up being isolated and wasting his "substantial" income on alcohol and drugs.
Mr Heath said while part of Preece's motivation was that he had wanted to be accepted by the criminal organisation, "there was no doubt he was being manipulated by others".
However Mr Heath said the offences were so serious only an immediate 12-month jail term was appropriate.
The sentence was backdated to August last year to take into account time Preece had already spent in custody.
- ABC
