Cairns Don't miss out on the headlines from Cairns. Followed categories will be added to My News. A Cairns drug dealer tried to claim almost $100,000 in refunds for a cleaning business that did not exist, a court has heard.
Carmel Ann Joseph, 51, pleaded guilty to two counts of supplying a dangerous drug, one count possessing a dangerous drug in excess of 2.0 grams, two counts possessing a dangerous drug, and one count of trafficking a dangerous drug in Cairns Supreme Court last week. State prosecutor Shauna Farrelly told the court Ms Joseph was 49 at the time of her offending and had a criminal history which included drug offending and a five and half year jail sentence for fraud in the “vicinity of $193,000 over a significant period of time” while she worked at Cash Converters.
Ms Farrelly said Ms Joseph was arrested in January 2022 when police launched an operation targeting drug dealers in Cairns. This involved phone intercepts which identified the defendant and her co-offender and partner Jason Chalk who entered a guilty plea to trafficking and supply drug charges last Thursday. “Investigations revealed the defendant carried on the business of trafficking methylamphetamine for a period lasting eight months and six days,” Ms Farrelly said.
Ms Joseph also pleaded guilty to Commonwealth fraud charges after she made false GST declarations for a fake cleaning business. Police executed a search warrant on the defendant’s hotel room which uncovered five clip seal bags.