Doing time for drugs bought online

A Wellington man has been sentenced to home detention for drugs offences including importing methamphetamine from online illicit retailer the Silk Road.

Peter James Grossett, 48, appeared for sentencing today in Wellington District Court after earlier pleading guilty to the drugs-related offences.

The court heard he had admitted the offending after a police investigation prompted when Customs intercepted two packages from Canada in September and November last year. The packages were addressed to him, and contained small amounts of methamphetamine and LSD.

According to the police summary of facts provided to the court a search warrant found at his house a teddy bear and a a hollowed out book, both containing LSD. They also found cannabis and utensils.

Grossett admitted one charge apiece of importing the class A controlled drug methamphetamine, importing the class A controlled drug LSD, possession of LSD, producing cannabis butter, possession of cannabis and possession of equipment for cultivating cannabis.  

The court heard Grossett had admitted buying the methamphetamine and LSD from the Silk Road and later a similar site.

The Silk Road was a secretive online drugs supermarket accessible worldwide, operated using encrypted web technology that enabled buyers and sellers to trade anonymously. It was shut down by the FBI late last year but similar sites have reportedly since sprung up in its place.

In sentencing Judge Bill Hastings took Grossett's early guilty plea into account and noted that the Crown agreed with Grossett's defence that the drugs he imported were intended for personal use only.

Judge Hastings sentenced Grossett to nine months' home detention beginning Monday 7 July, and 200 hours community work, and ordered him to comply with any drug and alcohol programmes recommended by probation at the sentence's completion.