A North Queensland criminal — who was busted with almost $2 million of methylamphetamine hidden in a car tyre — has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Leslie Gordon Sharp, 55, pleaded guilty to five charges in the Supreme Court in Townsville, including possessing dangerous drugs.
Sharp — who was once on a list of Australia's most wanted fugitives — was arrested in February 2020 after police tracked and intercepted a car at Home Hill, south of Townsville.
Officers uncovered 663 grams of cannabis inside a toolbox and 1.9 kilograms of methylamphetamine stashed inside a spare tyre.
The court heard the drugs had a street value of up to $1.9m.
Police also seized $192,700 in cash from the vehicle.
Justice David North sentenced Sharp to 11 years in prison.
He will be eligible for parole in November 2026.
Sharp has already spent more than 1,000 days in pre-sentence custody but that will not count as time served.
'Architect' of 'largest' seizure in years
Crown prosecutor Monique Sheppard said Sharp — who was on parole at the time of his arrest — had made multiple trips between Townsville and Brisbane to obtain drugs.
"He was the architect of one of the largest seizures of methylamphetamine in the Townsville region in recent years," she said.
"He organised the sourcing of those drugs and its transportation from Brisbane with the intention for those drugs to be onsold here in Townsville."
Justice North said Sharp had an "appalling" criminal record that spanned decades.
"There is a history of dishonesty, of violence, including attempted murder, and there is a history of serious drug offending," he said.
"The prospects of your ultimate rehabilitation must be regarded as illusory.
"You are a confirmed criminal, set in your ways."
