Drug-traffickers get home detention

• Published date: 04 March 2022
• Publication title: Otago Daily Times (New Zealand)

Wendy Ruiha Prudence Matthews (50) was sentenced to 12 months’ home detention when she appeared before the Dunedin District Court in July last year

Facing 15 methamphetamine and cannabis charges, she narrowly avoided prison by undertaking a 15-week Destiny Church rehabilitation programme.

Jodie Maree Barbara (34), who appeared in court yesterday on 21 drugs charges, had a similar fate.

She got 10 months’ home detention and would serve the first part of that sentence at a Christchurch rehabilitation programme she had been undertaking over recent months while on bail.

The two women could not have complained of a lack of warning that police were on to them.

After noticing a ‘‘significant rise’’ in the distribution of drugs in Central Otago, officers raided Matthews’ Alexandra home in June 2019, finding an associate of hers with 11g of the class-A substance and cannabis bagged up for supply.

The brush with the law, however, only seemed to embolden the defendants, who continued their double-pronged commercial dealing.

Court documents said Matthews would collect money from her customers and from Barbara before travelling to Christchurch to bulk buy.

The pair, the court heard, would be in regular communication during the drug-running trips and would discuss the quantity and quality of what was on offer.

Between January and April 2020 the defendants exchanged 570 text messages and police said they also communicated on other messaging apps.

Their endeavour, though, was not without its hiccups.

In February last year, Matthews arranged for a courier to fly from Rotorua to Invercargill with a package of P.

However, the drug mule did not board the flight and instead made off with the money the women had transferred by internet banking earlier that day.

Matthews complained she was now owed...