Jail time for meth traffickers

Two Broome women have been jailed for at least four years and declared drug traffickers after driving into the town with 130g of methamphetamine in their possession. Tassie Loice Aitken, 28, and Alieka Diane Jaffrey, 29, were sentenced in Broome District Court last week after pleading guilty to possessing a trafficable amount of methamphetamine with intent to sell or supply to another. The pair were supported in court by several female relatives sitting in the public gallery. The court was told Jaffrey was driving a blue Nissan Dualis with Aitken south on Broome Road when they were pulled over by police in a targeted traffic stop last November. Officers indicated to the pair they wished to search the vehicle at the Broome Police Station, where two clip seal bags containing a total of 128.8g of methamphetamine were found wrapped in electrical tape within the driver’s seat headrest. A third clip seal bag containing 1.46g of the prohibited drug was found within the interior of the driver-side door, which was found to be Jaffrey’s for personal use. Although Aitken declined to participate in a police interview after being arrested, Jaffrey made admissions they intended to supply the larger quantity of methamphetamine to another person, who would sell it to others. It was found the women had come into possession of the prohibited drug after the pair travelled to Perth for Jaffrey to buy a car. They were then approached by acquaintances who asked them to take the methamphetamine with them back to Broome. In submissions it was revealed Jaffrey, who had no prior criminal history except for being fined $400 for possessing the smaller quantity of methamphetamine, became involved with the drug after her marriage broke down and needed something to make her feel better. Aitken, who had completed parole after serving jail time for drug dealing just five months earlier, had suffered a relapse and fell back into her methamphetamine addiction. It was also submitted that neither woman was more criminally culpable than the other because they both knew they were smuggling the methamphetamine into Broome and both showed remorse for their actions. A weeping Jaffrey was sentenced to a jail term of four years and three months, while Aitken had an extra six months imposed on her sentence given her history of drug offending. Jaffrey will be eligible for parole in February 2022, while Aitken will be eligible for parole in August 2022.