Police seize methamphetamine parcels Albany woman bought online using Bitcoin

A 36-year-old Albany woman used Bitcoin to buy methamphetamine but her drugs were intercepted at the local post office. Louise Ann Jean Noterey appeared in Albany Magistrates Court last Thursday pleading guilty to one count of attempting to possess a prohibited drug. Police prosecutor Sergeant Alan Dean told the court Noterey, using Bitcoin, bought three separate amounts of meth totalling 10.35g. Bitcoin is a digital currency or cryptocurrency which operates on a peer-to-peer network system, without banks or a central administrator. The three parcels of drugs, addressed to her, were seized at the Australia Post depot on Sanford Road in Centennial Park on October 13. The parcels contained 0.55g, 6.3g and 3.5g of the illicit substance. “On October 14, the accused attended the Albany Police Station where she was interviewed and made admissions to purchasing it with Bitcoin for her personal use,” Sgt Dean said. Sgt Dean described the circumstances of the case as “unusual”. Legal Aid duty lawyer Graeme Payne told the court Noterey started using meth after her partner died. “Her explanation was to get a sufficient supply to last her some time,” he said. Mr Payne asked the court to consider penalties such as a fine or community-based order. He also asked Magistrate Dianne Scaddan to grant Noterey a spent conviction. Ms Scaddan said the mother-of-two’s attempt to buy meth by importing it into Australia was “concerning”. “People using the internet and Bitcoin to import methamphetamine into Australia in personal quantities is troublesome and difficult to detect,” she said. The magistrate placed Noterey on a community-based order for eight months and refused to grant her a spent conviction. She said the matter of a spent conviction was a “vexed question” for the court, but the seriousness of Noterey’s offending outweighed her personal circumstances.