Police found 4.1g of methamphetamines, 3.4g of ecstasy, four quetiapine tablets, three Viagra tablets, one Valium tablet, two bottles of Vyvanse tablets, two containers containing 1-4 butanediol and 33 pressed tablets when they searched Callum Savio’s Shepparton home on January 15, 2023.
They also recovered $24,322.35 of cash, six SD cards, three CCTV cameras, several power tools, including two nail guns, and receipts from poker machines during the search.
Savio, 33, of Shepparton, pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to trafficking methamphetamine, trafficking 1-4 butanediol, two counts of possessing ecstasy, possessing 1-4 butanediol, possessing schedule four poisons, handling stolen goods and two counts of dealing with property suspected to be the proceeds of crime.
Police also searched Aaron Heffernan’s Shepparton house on the same day and found a total of 69.36g and one ziplock bag of methamphetamines, 4.5g of ecstasy, $23,900 in cash, a box containing empty plastic bottles addressed to Savio, a red Honda Solo motorbike, a 7x5 box trailer, various power tools including drills and wrenches, and white goods among other items.
Mr Heffernan is Savio’s co-accused, whom he had known for six months, and will face the Shepparton County Court for a sentence indication hearing in November.
The red Honda motorbike police recovered at Mr Heffernan’s home was stolen from the shed of a Rushworth property in July 2020, and the 7x5 box trailer had been stolen from a Lemnos property in September 2023.
In November 2023, $30,000 worth of tools were stolen from a builder’s top trailer in Shepparton and were found when police searched the homes of Savio and Mr Heffernan.
Savio’s defence counsel told the court a change in his client’s routine triggered his relapse, and he had accepted he was not resilient enough to deal with minor setbacks.
Drugs became an issue for Savio when he was 23 years old, and he had no priors before 2015, his defence counsel said.
Although the amount of drugs Savio trafficked was above the commercial quantity, he didn’t have the intention to do so, the court heard.
Other than the quantity, it was a “benign” example of trafficking, his defence counsel told the court.
The court heard Savio saw a future for himself in Greater Shepparton, where he had “strong community support”.
His defence counsel said he had insight into his drug issues, as he had successfully completed two stays at a rehabilitation cottage.
Magistrate Simon Zebrowski noted Savio had an “unimpressive history” of similar offences over some time.
He told Savio he had the ability to do well in a structured environment, but he had to learn to deal with life’s challenges without turning to drugs.
“Life is not easy, life is not a straight road,” he said.
“This is something you’re going to have to get used to.”
Mr Zebrowski also said it was concerning that “people think ice has a stranglehold on regional communities”.
Savio was sentenced to 18 months in prison with a non-parole period of nine months.
Mr Zebrowski cancelled Savio’s community corrections order, which he was sentenced to and breached on other matters, and re-sentenced him to 24 days in prison.
Savio had spent 246 days in pre-sentence detention.
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