A wall finisher has pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking charge after police busted him hopping off a train with cocaine believed to be worth nearly $20,000.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Deakin man Justin Andrew Eeles, 51, entered the plea when he appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court over the phone on Thursday.
A statement of agreed facts tendered to the court shows police investigating Eeles obtained a warrant to search him on April 22.
They then stopped him when he arrived at the Canberra Railway Station on a train from Sydney later that day.
Eeles told officers what they were looking for was in the top outer pocket of his backpack, but he would not say what the item was or how it had got there.
MORE COURT AND CRIME NEWS:
- 'Violent, corrupt and degrading': Rapist finally faces justice
- Man's theft of GPS-tracked pizza delivery car led to his downfall
- Conviction for alleged threats against officers deemed unfair
- Detectives search for shooter after man hit in hotel gunfire
- Rapist publican jailed for nearly 10 years over 'extraordinary' violations
When police opened the pocket, they found and seized a large plastic bag that contained 55 grams of cocaine.
This amount represents more than nine times the minimum traffickable quantity.
At the time of Eeles' arrest, police said in a media release that the estimated street value of the drugs was almost $20,000.
The 51-year-old spent a single night in custody at the police watch house, but he has otherwise been on bail ever since.
After the guilty plea was entered on Thursday morning, defence lawyer Jacob Robertson asked Magistrate Robert Cook to order a pre-sentence report.
Mr Cook obliged and set the matter down for sentence on November 12.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
