A Figtree dealer has pleaded guilty to leading police on a dangerous pursuit and multiple counts of supplying illegal drugs after telling police the kilograms of drugs were for his friends.
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Mitchell Brett Leigh Rath, 22, confirmed guilty pleas to charges arising from three separate incidents in Wollongong Local Court.
The most recent occurred on May 25 this year, when a police search uncovered Rath's cache of illegal drugs.
On that day, police arrived at Rath's St George Avenue address in Figtree with an electronic search warrant for Rath's phone.
After giving police his device, Rath told officers that he had "pills, cannabis and other stuff" in his room.
Rath showed police where his stash was, leading police to uncover 2.4 kilograms of cannabis, 100 grams of "pink pills" totalling 40 grams of MDMA and nine grams of psilocybin, commonly known as magic mushrooms.
Rath told police the drugs were his and that he was "supplying it to friends".
Police also found a slingshot and fireworks which are prohibited weapons and explosives.
Police charged Rath with three counts of supplying a prohibited drug, one count of possessing a weapon without permit and one count of possessing explosives.
Police also charged Rath with possessing the proceeds of crime after they found $5005 in cash.
Rath was already known to authorities as three months earlier when lining up for the Transmission music festival in Sydney Olympic Park a drug detection dog had picked him out.
At about 4.45pm on Saturday February 11, while waiting in line to validate his ticket, a sniffer dog identified Rath. Police asked Rath why the dog would pick him to which he told police he had taken a pill earlier, but no longer had any drugs on him.
Police were however suspicious as Rath did not open his mouth while talking to them and appeared "very cagey", according to court documents. When police asked why he had mouth closed, Rath covered his mouth with his hand, before police told him to open his mouth and spit out whatever he was trying to hide.
Rath spat out two items wrapped in electrical tape.
Rath was taken to a separate area where he was strip searched and questioned about the items. Rath told police the tape contained "pingas" or five MDMA tablets in each parcel.
Police asked Rath what he intended to do with the drugs which he said was for his "personal use". Police charged Rath with one count of possessing a prohibited drug.
This was not the first time that Rath came to the attention of police as on Friday November 11, 2022, Rath had been involved in a dangerous police pursuit in Unanderra.
That morning, police saw Rath driving a black motorcycle heading south at the corner of Cordeaux Road and the Princes Highway. Police saw the motorcycle driving erratically through traffic and followed it to Five Islands Road.
Navigating heavy traffic during the morning peak hour, Rath reached speeds of up to 120 km/h in the 70 km/h zone near the approach to Northcliffe Drive.
Overtaking in the left hand slip lane, police began a pursuit of Rath as he dodged drivers including a truck and a dog. At the roundabout with the intersection of the slip lane to the M1 Rath lost control and hit the tarmac, sliding into the middle of the roundabout.
Rath got up and put his hands above his head, before police called an ambulance and escorted him to Wollongong Hospital. Rath was charged with police pursuit - not stop and speeding.
In Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday, lawyers for Rath confirmed the guilty pleas to all charges, clarifying that only $2502 of the cash was the proceeds of crime which was agreed to by the police prosecutor.
Rath will be sentenced in September after a sentencing assessment report is prepared.
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