A Wangaratta woman swept up in a major police operation has escaped with a fine for trafficking cannabis and going on a spending spree with a stolen debit card. The 28-year-old appeared at Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court pleading guilty to multiple charges including drug trafficking and obtaining property by deception. The court heard specialist Taskforce VIPER operatives assisted by local police searched a cabin at a Wangaratta caravan park on 8 May this year, targeting the woman’s partner. It formed part of a five-day cross-border operation targeting motorcycle gangs and organised criminal entities in the North East and Border regions. Police then forced entry to a Reginald Court home and found the man and the woman present along with drugs and drug paraphernalia. The court heard messages on the woman’s phone indicated she was dealing cannabis, telling police she was trafficking to fund her own drug use. The court also heard the woman, her partner and another accused went on a spending spree of more than $750 on various items using a stolen bank card. A man had dropped their wallet at a Wangaratta hotel carpark on 13 February 2025 and it was given to the woman’s partner, who claimed to be the victim to staff. Defence counsel Nancy Battiato said her client’s offending and her drug use stemmed from being in a “toxic” relationship with the 22-year-old man, which has since ended. “We all frown upon any form of trafficking, but this is cannabis, there’s no sophistication about it and by her own admission it was to support her own habit,” she said. Police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Stuart Pritchard argued for a harsher sentence than just a fine. “While it’s not the biggest trafficking of drugs I’ve ever seen, the community is abhorrent of such offending,” he said. “She is liable for her own offending and her offending is substantial.” Magistrate Megan Casey imposed a $2000 fine and placed the woman on a 12-month good behaviour bond, requiring proof of drug addiction treatment. “Take the end of your relationship as the start of your new life,” she said. The woman’s ex-partner is due to appear at Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on 21 September.
