A Dunedin drug-dealer caught with nearly $40,000 of meth in his undies was on parole at the time for identical crimes, a court has heard.
Jason Charles Dalwood, 35, was originally jailed for selling the class A substance in June 2022 and was granted parole 13 months later.
But in a letter before the Dunedin District Court yesterday, he said there was no chance of a fresh start when he got out.
The drugs seized during his arrest meant he owed a debt and he was tracked down by those underworld characters, who demanded their money.
"You say it was a horrible situation to be in," Judge Jim Large.
"I don’t doubt it was, but the misery that meth causes in the community is also a factor I have to take into account," he said.
In October last year — just weeks after being released from prison — Dalwood was driving a BMW in Caversham when police pulled him over.
After the defendant was taken back to the station, he was thoroughly searched.
Inside Dalwood’s underwear, officers found a package tightly bound with insulation tape which contained 65g of meth.
Court documents said the haul had a street value of up to $39,000.
Dalwood also had $3685 in cash.
The dealer refused to give police the access code to his cellphone but officers were able to open it anyway.
They found several conversations in the Snapchat app which made explicit references to drug deals, but many of Dalwood’s communications were encrypted, the court heard.
Counsel Sarah Saunderson-Warner said her client had been threatened by those whom he owed money.
"This isn’t a man who was getting rich from drugs," she said.
Dalwood said he was "disgusted" with himself for succumbing to the pressure of others and his addiction, but stressed he was now motivated to confront his demons.
"I have real sympathy for your parents and you should think yourself very fortunate to have such supportive folk behind you," Judge Large said.
Dalwood was convicted of two counts of offering methamphetamine, possessing the drug, possessing it for supply, breaching the Search and Surveillance Act and breaching release conditions.
He was jailed for two years, one month and the judge ordered forfeiture of his phone and cash.
