Sydney mum sent to prison after drug ring busted

Brooke Streeter, 29, who has been jailed for supplying not less than a commercial quantity of methylamphetamine. Photo / Channel 9

A Sydney mother of three will spend at least the next four years behind bars after she was convicted for her role in a southern Sydney ice supply ring.

Brooke Streeter, 29, from Gymea in the Sutherland Shire, loudly sobbed and sunk into her chair in the dock as she was handed a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for two convictions of supplying almost half a kilo of methampathamine, some of which was exchanged in a suburban Woolworths car park.

When she was arrested last year, Streeter was found with cannabis and ice on her, multiple mobile phones and more than A$3000 in cash, the latter of which she claimed she had "won at the pub".

The testimony of Streeter, who with parole and time served could be out in August 2023, was described by Judge Nicole Noman as having all "the hallmarks of invention" and was "decidedly unimpressive".

She was imprisoned alongside Robert Brown, Arash Morovati and Haessam Elbaf, who were also convicted of supplying methampathamine.

The court heard the group used various codewords to describe the type and quantity of drugs deals, including "quarter pounders," and a "half ocker".

The group was caught as part of strike force Mathison, which was set up to investigate ice supply in the Sutherland Shire. An undercover cop posed as an eager buyer of increasing amounts of ice, all the time bugging the group's phones and vehicles.

In March 2018, an undercover police operative (UPO) made contact with Streeter who agreed to supply them with one ounce (about 28g) of ice for A$4800.

The same undercover officer then purchased a similar amount from Streeter in early April, and then larger amounts — five times as much — at the end of that month.

Knotted bags containing the drugs were handed over in various car parks including at Roselands Aquatic Centre and a Woolworths store in Ermington, both in Sydney's west.

At one-point Elbaf, one of Streeter's co-accused, told the undercover officer that he was a "meth cook" and was in the process of manufacturing 15kg of meth, said Judge Noman.

The officer said they would take 1kg of ice if they could supply it.

Later, Streeter said the cost for a kilo of ice would be A$140,000. The officer pushed back saying in coded messages that the "waistline was too big" and "the more she eats, the smaller she gets".

Judge Noman said "waistline" was a reference to the meth, while "the more she eats, the smaller she gets" meant the price was too big, and should reduce with such a big purchase.

The court also heard that a "dot" was code for a small 0.1g hit of ice, "quarter pounder" was a quarter of an ounce or 7g of the drug, while a "half ocker" was half an ounce or 14g.

Streeter and the other members of the ring did not ultimately supply the 1kg asked for.

On and around 27 June 2018, the four were separately arrested. Police swooped on Streeter as she was getting into a car parked close to her home.

She was found with three phones, A$3050 in cash and, stuffed into her underpants, 200g of cannabis and a resealable bag containing 8.65g of ice.

"I don't sell, I use it, it's mine," she said to police about the drugs.

When asked to explain how she had such a large amount of cash on her, Streeter replied, "I won it at Gymea pub".

Both Elbaf and Streeter tried to walk back some of the statements picked up on the recordings.

Brooke Streeter and the group were caught as part of strike force Mathison, which was set up to investigate ice supply in the Sutherland Shire. Photo / Supplied

Elbaf said he had "talked up his role" and denied he was a "drug cook".

"Although he discussed 1kg (of ice), he was never going to do it. He just wanted to get money from the UPO as part of a drug rip-off. He said he was on drugs the whole time," Judge Noman said of his explanation.

Streeter said she had been threatened and while she volunteered to supply smaller amounts of drugs, she only did larger sales under duress.

"She said (at one point) she was drugged, tied up and when she woke up had a gun to her head," said Judge Noman.

"She felt she had no choice as she was threatened and her family would be hurt."

'HALLMARKS OF INVENTION'

However, none of the intercepts picked up anything that could be considered a threat.

Streeter's account of her claimed threat "evolved", the judge said.

Judge Noman also said the claim the 1kg ice deal was merely a ruse to rip off the UPO was unlikely given the pair was recorded discussing the profit margin they might expect to receive.

"If it was a rip-off, the whole amount would be profit margin," she said.

"Both were decidedly unimpressive. Their account for not supplying 1kg does not accord with their discussions.

"They had the hallmarks of invention and attempts to minimise the role all together to suggest she was a user-dealer. I reject the offender's evidence she made no profit."

Judge Noman noted Streeter was hit hard by her father's death in 2015. He was found in a pool of blood in the backyard of his southern Sydney home.

"She has struggled with grief over her father's death which she chooses to believe was murder," she said.

She was convicted for supplying 462.95g of ice.

Elbaf was given a sentence of eight years with a non-parole period of five and a half years for supplying 1.26kg of ice, like Streeter considered to be a large commercial quantity.

Morovati was given a two-year sentence with a non-parole period of 10 months, for an indictable quantity of supplying a prohibited drug. With time already spent in prison he could be out as soon as early November.

Brown, 50, was given a sentence of two years and four months with a non-parole period of 16 months for an indictable quantity of supplying a prohibited drug. With time spent he could be out on Boxing Day.

Police have yet to recover the tens of thousands of dollars handed over to the group for the drugs.