A Queensland man once caught trying to smuggle squirrels into Australia by hiding them in his pants has avoided jail for drug trafficking.
Lucas Seth Jolly, 22, made about $80,000 from a two year drug operation north of Brisbane which he documented on his phone including a picture of him snorting a white powder while driving, a court has heard.
Seven months after appearing in court for "being a dickhead" and trying to sneak in squirrels from Bali, Jolly was charged in March 2021 for drug trafficking following a police search of his Tewantin residence.
Jolly sold largely cocaine and cannabis - which he grew - as well as steroids and ecstasy while on parole for a July 2019 dangerous drug possession charge, Brisbane Supreme Court heard.
He had a "loyal" base of more than 80 customers and arranged sales via text, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat and Instagram.
Analysis of Jolly's phone revealed he regularly took photographs of his drug use, crown prosecutor Ronald Swanwick said.
"For instance ... himself with two bags of white powder ... with caption 'hate waking up with bags under my eyes'' ... snorting white powder off a woman's chest and snorting cocaine through a $50 note with caption 'cheeky bump...'," he said.
Jolly boasted of "making bank more than ever" through his trafficking, with a phone picture of him holding multiple bundles of $50 notes with the caption "week's pay", the court heard.
Jolly was also pictured preparing drugs for sale with large bags of cocaine while in another he stood in front of his cannabis plants with the caption "just got a fat crop growing boys".
"It is apparent by your messages you were engaging in this activity almost with a level of enjoyment," Justice David Boddice said of Jolly who also received unemployment benefits while trafficking.
However, Justice Boddice sentenced Jolly to four years in prison - suspended for five years - for one count of trafficking dangerous drugs after taking into account his rehabilitation, describing it as a "success story".
Jolly's trafficking arrest came after he appeared in a Maroochydore court in August 2020 for his failed squirrel smuggling attempt.
After purchasing the animals in Bali, Jolly placed them in socks and hid them in checked baggage on a flight to Australia in December 2018 while posting updates on social media.
When he arrived in Brisbane, Jolly collected his bag, went into the toilet and put the squirrels in his pants but one escaped.
He was nabbed by airport authorities tipped off by someone following his Instagram account.
"To your credit, (you) did cooperate ... stating that you had undertaken such acts to show off and accurately describing your behaviour as 'being a dickhead'," Judge John Allen said in 2020.
