A judge has acquitted a motor sport mechanic of trafficking cocaine after police found a $288,000 "brick" of it in his car and some $12,000 in a shoe box.
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In the judge-alone trial of Grant Mathew Henderson this week, prosecutors claimed the 39-year-old went on a drug run to Sydney with a friend one night in October 2018.
When he returned, police said they found about 444 grams of cocaine in the centre console of his Ford Ranger company car, as well as $12,450 in cash.
Mr Henderson is a co-owner of ESP Racing, which is an auto repair and customisation shop at Queanbeyan.
Mr Henderson's lawyers argued in the ACT Supreme Court that he wasn't doing a drug run at all. Defence barrister Christopher Watson said the business owner and his friend were in Sydney for all of about 10 minutes to sell and personally deliver turbochargers, which explained the cash.
Mr Watson said the amount of cash equated with the cost of the turbochargers and it wasn't unusual for ESP Racing to accept cash payments for parts. He described the Ford Ranger as a "courtesy car" used by people at the Queanbeyan workshop, which was itself akin to a bit of a "social club".
Mr Watson said despite police having surveilled Mr Henderson's departure from Queanbeyan and return to his ACT home, they didn't track his activity in Sydney.
"The excuse provided by the police in this trial ... is not sufficient to excuse or explain why the police investigation didn't involve surveillance coverage up to Sydney," Mr Watson told the court on Thursday.
Justice Michael Elkaim, in acquitting Mr Henderson on Friday, pointed to a police officer who acted as the informant in the matter. He said while the officer was criticised for not having surveilled Mr Henderson's activity in Sydney with the help of NSW Police, she acted appropriately given Mr Henderson's "sudden departure".
Justice Elkaim said the Crown had asked him to infer Mr Henderson knew about the cocaine in the centre console because a $5 note also found in the car had cocaine residue and his DNA on it.
Prosecutors said the cocaine on the note came from the cocaine brick, but Justice Elkaim said there was no evidence "that the block of cocaine had been opened, nor that a part had been broken off".
"To the contrary ... records refer to a 'plastic bag containing solid white powder' without any reference to the bag being open," Justice Elkaim said.
"How then can I be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the accused knew about the cocaine?"
The judgment said police officers did not test Mr Henderson's blood for drugs after they searched his car, or determine whether the cocaine on the note matched the cocaine in the brick.
Justice Elkaim also acquitted Mr Henderson of possessing the proceeds of crime. He found him guilty of driving while disqualified.