A WESTERN Sydney man pulled over in a luxury car and found with more than $150,000 worth of methamphetamine concealed in a hidden compartment in the boot has pleaded guilty in Newcastle Local Court.
Mark Capati, 29, of Hassall Grove, was serving an intensive corrections order for supplying drugs when he was spotted by police outside a drug house at Mayfield West in September last year.
Capati was sitting in a red Range Rover Evoque when police attached to the Newcastle proactive crime team spotted another man, Sekona Aholahi, got into the passenger seat about 2.55pm on September 12.
When Capati drove away, police followed and he attempted to evade them, prompting police to put on their lights and stop the Range Rover.
Quizzed about what they were doing in Newcastle, the two men said they were visiting a family member at the house at Mayfield West.
But police knew it was an abandoned drug house and decided to search the pair.
They didn't find anything on the men, but a search of the car revealed a hidden compartment in the boot containing 247 grams of methamphetamine, with a street value of $156,000.
The two men were arrested and initially charged with supplying a commercial quantity of methamphetamine.
But the charge against Mr Aholahi was dropped in February when prosecutors could not prove that he knew about the drugs hidden in the boot.
Capati was in a predicament, however, with testing revealing the plastic bags holding the methamphetamine had five of his fingerprints on them.
He appeared in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday via audio visual link from jail and pleaded guilty to knowingly take part in the supply of methamphetamine.
A charge of supplying a commercial quantity of methamphetamine was withdrawn and prosecutors successfully applied to have him remain behind bars ahead of sentencing in Newcastle District Court later in the year.
