Broome taxi-driver sentenced to 18 months imprisonment after transporting cannabis in washing machine

A Broome taxi driver who was caught transporting nine kilograms of cannabis packed in a washing machine has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. Reginald John Edgeworth Kelly pleaded guilty to four counts of drug possession and trafficking, as well as unlawfully obtained property at WA’s District Court on Thursday, April 13. The court heard Kelly was stopped by police on Great Northern Highway in 2021 and found nine kilograms of cannabis stuffed in a washing machine, five kilograms in a packing box and $43,000 of cash in his vehicle. A police search of his Roebuck Estate home on June 11, 2021 found more cannabis and $7,025 in cash scattered across the house. The 72-year-old denied he knew the washing machine was full of cannabis, but pleaded guilty to being a courier of the drug. Kelly’s defence lawyer Max Crispe maintains the five kilograms of cannabis found in the car was for Kelly’s personal use to treat an array of health problems and was given more than what he’d actually paid for. In 2018, Kelly was a victim of an attempted murder with a machete by his partner and continues to suffer health issues from the incident. Kelly also had a metastatic melanotic melanoma the size of a grapefruit removed earlier this year while in custody for the charges. During sentencing, Judge Mara Barone said she was disappointed to see a man of his character engaging in drug trafficking. “You knew it was cannabis and that’s what you were transporting and that it was a significant or large amount,” “This wasn’t just a one-off mistake you made,” Judge Barone acknowledged the financial burden of Kelly’s medical history and psychological impact of the machete attack when handing down his sentence. “[You are an] of an otherwise upstanding member of the community in Western Australia who has, it seems, stayed out of trouble for most of your life up until your elderly years and found yourself in this position,” she said. “But not withstanding those things it can never be appropriate, acceptable or okay for someone to set about the sale of cannabis ... to fund even things that might be essential medical treatment.” Kelly was sentenced to 18 months in prison on April 13 and was eligible for parole immediately due to time already served in custody.