A drug cooker's claim that his prison friends coerced him into taking part in a large-scale drug lab near Canberra to produce methylamphetamine oil worth up to $159 million has been rejected, as he was sentenced to nearly 10 years' jail.
NSW District Court Judge Robyn Tupman also sentenced the man's co-offender to nearly seven years' jail, after rejecting his claim he was only a labourer doing an "odd job" putting up a shed.
Luke Drever, 40, and Kevin Reilly, 41, appeared via video link in the Queanbeyan District Court on Monday for sentencing after they pleaded guilty to manufacturing a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug between November 2019 and January 2020.
Court facts state that the operation at a rural property in Harolds Cross, about 65 kilometres south-east of Canberra, involved a shed that had been converted into a two-storey homestead with living and garage sections and a smaller cream shed nearby.
During the men's arrest, three jerry cans containing an oily liquid from the crime scene were seized.
Forensic analysis showed the cans contained about 31.9 kilograms of pure meth, reportedly worth up to $159 million.
During a police search, they found numerous fake identification cards Drever had used to travel from Adelaide to Canberra two days before being arrested after surveillance and phone intercepts were set up.
In the homestead building, police found Drever's backpack containing $2950, Reilly's rifle with a scope attached and a self-loading shotgun.
The men's arrest was the culmination of police surveillance and phone interceptions starting in August 2019.
The facts state that Reilly, from Wollongong, led the construction of the larger shed in November 2019 and ordered four ovens one month later.
Drever previously gave evidence that people who protected him in a South Australian prison - where he served a term for similar offending - had demanded after his release that he cook meth for them as away to repay the debt.
The offender said the collaboration was formed to also gain protection from another prison associate's threats, which included burning his house down with him inside.
Judge Tupman rejected Drever's explanation, saying it did not have the ring of truth due to the timing of the threats, which came three years after he supposedly met his prison associates at a shopping centre.
The judge also said Drever qualified in chemical engineering and never returned to that industry after his SA jail stint, but the meth-cooking conversations he had with Reilly showed he had up-to-date knowledge.
"None of these intercepted calls or surveillance give the impression that he was only involving himself because of duress or because he felt coerced to do so," she said.
"It just does not make sense, and I do not accept that his claim for non-exculpatory duress has been made out."
The court heard Reilly, who used to work in gardening and at a metal scrapyard, told a psychologist he got involved because he did not want his daughters to experience the same financial hardships he went through as a child.
His family moved away from him following his arrest.
Judge Tupman said she accepted the motivation but did not accept "this assertion he was only involved doing an odd job putting up a shed".
"He took the risk and is now paying a significant and high price for his decision," she said.
"His involvement is less than Drever's because he did not have specialist knowledge and it was largely as a labourer, but not simply a labourer - it was a greater involvement than that."
Judge Tupman said the common objective seriousness for both men included financial gain and knowing they were making a product, about 90 times the minimum amount required to be a commercial quantity, that would be sold as ice.
However, she said there was no evidence both men intended to be involved in the next phases, including producing the oil as ice and distributing it.
She said both men were not principals as the syndicate was already set up before they became involved.
In sentencing both men, the judge also took into account a number of other offences relating to the fake identification, and dealing with the proceeds of crime and firearms.
Drever was sentenced to nine years and nine months' jail. With a non-parole period of six years and having already been in custody since January 2020, he will be eligible for release in early 2026.
Reilly was sentenced to six years and nine months' jail. His term was also backdated to January 2020, and he will be eligible for parole in early 2024 after serving a non-parole period of four years.
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