A Bundalong man who was caught trafficking a near commercial quantity of methylamphetamine from the home of his young son has been jailed.

Hayden Ellis, 39, faced the County Court on Tuesday where he was sentenced to serve two years and 10 months behind bars with 22 months non-parole after pleading guilty to three charges of drug trafficking, possession and handling of stolen goods.

The court heard on 7 August, 2024, police raided the 39-year-old’s Bundalong home and found 227g of methylamphetamine, 31g of cannabis, $6900 cash and stolen credit cards.

Small amounts of MDMA, diazepam, ice pipes and a set of scales were also seized.

A majority of the drugs were hidden inside a bathroom cupboard and detected by a police sniffer dog.

Ellis’ son and his ex-partner were inside the home at the time, with officers also arresting the 36-year-old woman.

The drug bust came after an extensive police investigation into drug trafficking and gun possession which also involved the arrest of a 21-year-old Yarrawonga man and a 24-year-old Yarrawonga man.

The 36-year-old woman was sentenced to 62 days in jail and an 18-month community corrections order for drug possession and failure to comply with police.

The 21-year-old was sentenced to 200 hours of community work for drug trafficking and helping hide a double barrel shotgun, which was found in the 24-year-old’s father’s home.

The court heard Ellis was also using drugs heavily at the time and was funding his drug use through trafficking.

Defence relied upon a psychological report to argue for a more lenient sentence, which detailed the 39-year-old’s difficult upbringing, ongoing symptoms of Guillain Barre syndrome, which nearly took his life in 2013, and good prospects for rehabilitation.

Ellis’ father spoke in support of his son, saying the wellbeing of his grandson was of paramount importance and served as motivation for his son.

Judge Pardeep Tiwana said despite accepting Ellis’ conditions, the 39-year-old’s moral culpability for his offending remained high due to prior drug trafficking and committing crimes while on bail.

“The courts have given you a number of opportunities to rehabilitate by imposing community correction orders… you have failed to take advantage of those opportunities,” he said.

“I cannot share the same optimism of your counsel and regard your prospects of rehabilitation as guarded.

“Perhaps you will learn on this occasion from your previous mistakes.”

Ellis had spent 552 days in custody prior to his sentence and will be eligible for parole later this year.