Two women responsible for large-scale drug trafficking in Central Otago have dodged a jail sentence.
Wendy Ruiha Prudence Matthews (50) was sentenced to 12 months’ home detention when she appeared before the Dunedin District Court in July last year.
Facing 15 methamphetamine and cannabis charges, she narrowly avoided a prison term by undertaking a 15-week Destiny Church rehabilitation programme.
Jodie Maree Barbara (34), who appeared in court yesterday on 21 drugs charges, had a similar fate.
She got 10 months’ home detention and would serve the first part of that sentence at a Christchurch rehabilitation programme she had been undertaking over recent months while on bail.
The pair could not have complained of a lack of warning that police were onto them.
After noticing a “significant rise” in the distribution of drugs in Central Otago, officers raided Matthews’ Alexandra home in June 2019, finding an associate of hers with 11g of the class A substance and cannabis bagged up for supply.
The brush with the law, however, only seemed to embolden the defendants, who continued their double-pronged commercial dealing.
Court documents said Matthews would collect money from her customers and from Barbara before travelling to Christchurch to bulk buy.
The pair, the court heard, would be in regular communication during the drug-running trips and would discuss the quantity and quality of what was on offer.
Between January and April 2020 the defendants exchanged 570 text messages and police said they also communicated on other messaging apps.
Their endeavour, though, was not without its hiccups.
In February last year, Matthews arranged for a courier to fly from Rotorua to Invercargill with a package of "P" (methamphetamine).
However, the drug mule did not board the flight and instead made off with the money the women had transferred by internet banking earlier that day.
Matthews complained she was now owed $30,000 from various dealers and customers who had bought “on tick”.
Barbara, who sourced drugs from Dunedin and North Otago, said she avoided that by demanding cash up front.
There was another setback during the Covid-19 lockdown when Matthews became concerned her trips to Canterbury were becoming too conspicuous.
At least one of the drivers she employed to do her runs, however, was sacked after using the methamphetamine on the return leg, the court heard.
Just over a year after the initial search warrant was executed, police were back at Matthews’ home.
Barbara was in Christchurch buying drugs at the time.
While nothing of interest was found at the property, text messages intercepted over several months plainly revealed the pair’s illicit actions.
Matthews alone had dozens of contacts to whom she was selling, and a summary of facts gave examples of the conversations she had with clients using thinly-veiled euphemisms for the illicit substances.
“Got much dinner left?” one asked her.
“Yep got 4 chicken pieces left,” replied Matthews.
A “quarter pack” equates to 0.25g of meth.
Barbara’s dealing even continued while she was on bail in Arrowtown with her two children, Judge Peter Rollo noted.
It was a “substantial pattern of offending”, he said.
Matthews’ counsel Judith Ablett-Kerr, QC, said her client was grateful she was finally arrested.
“The best thing for her was to be caught and face up to all these matters,” she said.
