Murder inquiries unearth drug ring
WHEN others couldn't get their hands on it, Paul Terrence Mastroieni could.
This is how defence barrister David Murray explained the 46-year-old's progression from meth addict to "go-to man" in the Gladstone drug trade.
Mastroieni and another Gladstone local, 44-year-old Richard Cedric Ingra, pleaded guilty to separate charges of trafficking dangerous drugs in the Supreme Court of Rockhampton yesterday.
The two were picked up during a police investigation targeting the illegal drug trade in Gladstone, code named Juliet Hoodoo, which started in February 2011.
The court heard the operation stemmed from investigations into the murder of Luke McAuliffe, who was killed in October 2010.
Crown prosecutor David Jones told the court police intercepted Mastroieni carrying methamphetamines a number of times between October 2010 and June 2011.
Police also intercepted phone calls and text messages between Mastroieni and his customers.
Mr Jones said Detective Senior Sergeant Scott Moon, who was involved in Operation Hoodoo, valued the drugs found in Mastroieni's possession over his eight-month trafficking period in excess of $100,000.
In Ingra's case, Mr Jones said police intercepted an average of 10 conversations a day relating to drugs.
However, he said Det Snr Sgt Moon could not provide an expert opinion on the value due to the "vague nature" of the conversations.
Mr Murray described Ingra as an "unremarkable, sad, drug addict".
Justice Duncan McMeekin sentenced Ingra to four years imprisonment with immediate parole eligibility.
Mastroieni was given seven and a half years with a parole date set at December 21, 2013.
