Matthew William Byrne (centre) arrives for a sentencing hearing with his legal team, Michael Kukulies-Smith of Kamy Saeedi Law (left) and Sam Pararajasingham SC. Photo: Albert McKnight.
A man who claimed he became involved in selling meth to help a friend, before later saying the friend had “[thrown him] under the bus”, has been spared jail.
Matthew William Byrne was arrested after a three-month police investigation in 2022.
He originally fought his charges and was scheduled to face a jury trial earlier this year. But as a result of pre-trial applications, a body of evidence was excluded from the case and he went on to plead guilty to three charges in an amended indictment.
In August 2022, Byrne gave instructions to a co-offender via the encrypted messaging app Threema to obtain a kilo of methylamphetamine, including directing them to a house to pick up a package.
The co-offender followed the instructions and secured a kilo of what was believed to be meth.
Police raided the co-offender’s home the following month and found 55 grams of meth and four mobile phones on which they discovered Byrne’s instructions.
Then that October, Byrne spoke to an unknown supplier to arrange for the supplier to deliver meth to him later that day.
He later met with a buyer in Richardson and handed over 140 grams of meth in exchange for a box that contained $54,250.
Police had been watching the then-32-year-old for some time, although they did not see the exchange between him and the buyer.
They stopped him soon after the incident and found the cash in his car.
Matthew William Byrne (right) leaves with his lawyer, Kamy Saeedi, after being granted bail in 2022. Photo: Albert McKnight.
Byrne eventually pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to traffic in a controlled drug, money laundering and using an unregistered or suspended vehicle in the ACT Supreme Court.
Justice Belinda Baker found, in her sentencing remarks, that his motive in relation to his drug offence was both to make a profit and to assist a friend.
“I do not consider that these motives are inconsistent,” she said.
Prosecutors noted he told a psychologist that his friend had “[thrown him] under the bus” and “this is the price you pay for helping people who don’t deserve it”.
“Whilst the prosecution’s concern is understandable, these comments need to be assessed in the context of all of the offender’s statements, and in the context of his background,” Justice Baker said.
She said Byrne had a childhood marked by disadvantage and had been consuming alcohol and drugs from a young age. But despite the challenges of his childhood, his subjective case was now optimistic.
“He has not had any issues with drugs or alcohol for many years. He is in full-time employment in land development,” she said.
“He has a supportive pro-social circle of family and friends, a number of whom have written character references which speak of the offender’s remorse for his offending, and his commitment to his rehabilitation.”
She said he has reasonable prospects of rehabilitation, and with treatment, poses a low risk of re-offending.
Byrne was sentenced to a total of two years and 11 months’ jail to be served in the community by an intensive corrections order with 200 hours of community service.
In court, Justice Baker urged him to make the most of this opportunity of rehabilitation.
“You have narrowly avoided going to jail,” she told him.
The co-offender who picked up the meth in August 2022 also pleaded guilty, but has yet to be sentenced.
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