Builder paid boat workers in meth: court

Yahoo

26-02-2025

A high profile builder pocketed more than $26,000 worth of the drug methylamphetamine by supplying it to contractors working on his houseboat - taking the price of the meth out of their remuneration, a court has been told.
Wayne Geoffrey Dwyer, the former director of Sunshine Coast-based construction company Dwyer Homes Pty Ltd, avoided jail during his court appearance on Wednesday for 'significant' supplies of the drug, which occurred over more than three months back in 2022.
The supplies occurred 86 times to three customers over the period.
Dwyer pleaded guilty to 90 charges - including 86 counts of supplying dangerous drugs.
The 63-year-old had been using the drug to ameliorate the condition of his Parkinson's disease, Supreme Court Justice Frances Williams said during the sentencing.
The court was told Dwyer supplied meth to three people who were working on his houseboat - moored at Minyama in the Sunshine Coast at the time he was busted.
The cost of the drugs was deducted from the workers' payslips, Justice Williams said.
While investigators were unable to determine how much of a profit was made, the court was told it was estimated Dwyer made more than $26,000 from the supplies.
His offending was undone after a search warrant was executed on the houseboat and a property in Mooloolaba on November 3, 2022.
Police discovered a computer with an excel spreadsheet on the boat detailing the supplies, and texts on his phone sourcing the meth.
'You did maintain a profit margin table in the spreadsheet, which showed between 15 and 70 per cent profit depending on the quantity supplied,' Justice Williams said.
Another 12.901g of meth and several drug utensils were also seized.
In sentencing Dwyer to 3.5 years' jail - wholly suspended for five years - Justice Williams noted the 'unusual' circumstances of the case and how the 63-year-old possessed the drugs for a 'mixed commercial purpose'.
'The court cannot condone the use of dangerous drugs for self-medication,' she said.
'You were a person of good standing in the community... and found yourself at 60 years of age dealing with a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, and other medical conditions.'
Dwyer was also placed on a probation order for 18 months.
Multiple references in support of Dwyer, in addition to medical reports and a letter of apology, were tendered in Dwyer's defence.
Defence barrister Mark McCarthy KC said there were 'significant' medical issues related to Dwyer's Parkinson's disease that led to his client first engaging with drugs at the time.
The court was told Dwyer eventually became dependent on the drug ice - extending the drugs to his circle of employees.
Mr McCarthy argued a suspended sentence was appropriate for his client given his medical condition and remorse for the offending.
'At 60 years of age, it's extremely unfortunate he (Dwyer) finds himself... in this offending,' he said.
Justice Williams noted Dwyer otherwise had taken significant steps in rehabilitation since the charges were laid.
She said the references painted him as a successful businessman, employing hundreds of staff and making extensive community contributions across the Sunshine Coast.
Dwyer first made headlines in 2019 over the controversial development of a tennis court on top of his Mooloolaba home.
A Current Affair reports the Sunshine Coast Council sent an enforcement notice ordering him to stop the construction, arguing the tennis court fence was above the regulation building height of 8.5 metres.
'They (neighbours) were concerned about the noise of the tennis balls, the grunts from players and the grunts from spectators,' Dwyer told the program.
'I let them know it's not going to be Wimbledon up here .'