As police examined a vehicle they'd seized from men suspected of trafficking drugs to the Illawarra, they made a discovery that helped cement their case.
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They were using two remote controls they had found inside the Toyota Hilux when they heard a mechanical device operating underneath the dashboard, leading them to discover a hidden compartment.
Inside was almost half a kilogram of methamphetamine, with a purity of 73.5 and 74 per cent, and nearly 42 grams of heroin, stored in vacuum-sealed bags.
The drugs were destined for customers in the Illawarra as part of a drug ring that allegedly involved both locals and up-line suppliers in Sydney.
The man who acted as a courier in this operation, Clay Raymond Trevena, was sentenced in Wollongong Local Court this week for his role, having pleaded guilty to two charges of supplying an indictable quantity of a drug, and participating in a criminal group.
Lake Illawarra police began investigating organised crime and the supply of illicit drugs in the region with the formation of Strike Force Mote.
Trevena, now 41, came under their notice because of his association with another man of interest.
Over the course of two months last year, police monitored the associate's activities using covert and physical surveillance, including phone taps.
This man allegedly sourced illicit drugs from two up-line suppliers in Sydney, and he and his partner would then sell them to customers in the Illawarra from their Berkeley home.
Trevena travelled with this man to Sydney to meet with the alleged suppliers, which police saw happen on eight occasions.
Last June, police intercepted a phone call in which Trevena discussed the supply of meth to another.
On July 17 last year, aerial police surveillance followed Trevena and his associate as they travelled to the Brighton Le Sands home of one of the alleged up-line suppliers, before they made their way back to Wollongong.
Police stopped the Hilux in Glastonbury Street, Unanderra, arrested the pair, and seized their vehicle.
It was a few days later, while searching the vehicle in the police holding yard, that officers discovered the hidden compartment containing the drugs.
It was an intricate set-up that concealed the drugs: to get into the compartment, the vehicle's ignition and demister had to be on; using the button powering the up-down movement of the driver's seat then released cables attached to the faceplate of the air conditioning panel, which allowed access.
In August, police intercepted calls from one of the alleged up-line suppliers and the associate's partner to Trevena, instructing him to go to the holding yard and find the Hilux.
They were apparently unaware that police had already found the drugs inside.
The following month police searched Trevena's then-address in Coniston and found 4.01 grams of heroin.
In court on Wednesday, defence lawyer Matt Ward said Trevena knew there was an indictable quantity of drugs hidden inside the vehicle but he was not aware of the specific amounts, noting that five grams was the threshold for an indictable quantity.
Mr Ward said Trevena was the courier for people higher up in the chain and the vehicle was not his.
Greed was not his client's motivation, Mr Ward said, but rather it was to feed his own heroin addiction.
He said Trevena pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and in his eight months on bail he had made some "real progress", completing a drug program and engaging with a drug and alcohol service.
The court heard Trevena's partner had tried to sever his ties with unsavoury associates and she feared he was falling back into such relationships in prison.
Mr Ward said the court could impose an intensive corrections order - which would allow Trevena to serve a jail term in the community - or failing that, make a finding of special circumstances to give him a longer period on parole.
The Crown prosecutor did not argue against a finding of special circumstances, but said there had been a significant amount of drugs which had been disguised through "highly sophisticated means".
The prosecutor referred to a sentencing assessment report which he said raised issues about Trevena's insight into his actions.
Magistrate Robert Walker sentenced Trevena to 18 months' imprisonment, backdated 120 days to account of time he had already spent in custody.
Magistrate Walker found there were special circumstances and imposed a non-parole period of nine months, which made Trevena eligible for release next February.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
