3 days ago
Woman jailed for five years over role in Kimberley meth trafficking ring
The final member of a drug trafficking ring caught transporting methylamphetamine on a remote highway in WA's Kimberley has been jailed for five years.
Merlou Abais Ruiz, 47, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing methylamphetamine with intent to sell or supply it.
Ruiz received the five-year sentence in the Perth District Court on Thursday.
Detectives charged Ruiz in 2022 as part of Operation Beaufortia, a major offensive by WA police to crack down on the supply of drugs in the Kimberley region.
All three of her co-accused have already been sentenced for their part in the drug operation.
Gary Troy McIntosh and Mark Richard Shadforth were sentenced to five years and six months and five years and eight months, respectively, in October 2024.
Trent Bin Omar was sentenced to five years and nine months in December 2024 for his role in the operation.
As part of the police operation, detectives intercepted Shadforth's calls in July 2022, leading authorities to intercept the group's car on the Great Northern Highway near Broome.
Ruiz was initially released without charge until she was again intercepted three months later, on October 13, carrying 10.58 grams of methylamphetamine.
Judge Gary Massey told the court he was "prepared to accept" Ruiz had "very much played a lesser role" in the offending, primarily driven by her own addiction to the drug.
Judge Massey described his consideration for Ruiz's personal circumstances, including her unstable childhood, with emotional and physical abuse, neglect and poor attachments to her parents.
However, the District Court Judge said there was a "significant need for general deterrence" given the harm caused by meth in the state's north.
"Small towns in the Kimberley have been very much affected by methylamphetamine reaching the streets in those communities," Judge Massey said.
"Those who seek to profit from that misery can expect to receive significant terms of imprisonment … to stop others from offending in this way.
"You chose to possess methylamphetamine with intent to sell or supply to others on separate occasions."
The 47-year-old's sentence was backdated to December 2022 to account for the time Ruiz had already spent in custody.
She will be eligible for parole on December 31 this year.
