NEWS 05
FRIDAY OCTOBER 14 2016
$20K found in drug search
Tom Volling
A FLAT battery stopped an
Alice Springs cannabis dealer
from starting his car engine
when he “freaked out” after
detectives asked to do a drug
search, a court has heard.
Matthew Marriott also resisted being handcuffed by
police, who found 445g of the
drug under the driver’s seat,
then repeatedly told the officers to “just seize” the drugs
and “let me go”.
Marriott was sentenced to
two years and two months sus-
pended prison term in the NT
Supreme Court for unlawfully
supply and possession of cannabis, and resisting a member
of the police force in the execution of his duty on January
1 this year.
About 9.10pm, the two detectives apprehended Marriott
in a black Holden Commodore
on Kurrajong Drive, Eastside.
When a policeman approached the driver’s door and
told him there were reasonable
grounds to suspect that there
were drugs in the vehicle, Marriott turned the keys in the ig-
“ ... you are very much an integral
part of an awful drug trade.”
JUSTICE GRAHAM HILEY
nition and attempted to restart
the engine.
He turned the keys two
more times but was unsuccessful because the battery was flat,
the court was told.
Detectives found a total of
891.4g of cannabis in the car,
worth about $15,000 in Alice
Springs. When they searched
his house on Smith Street,
where his partner and three
children also live, they found a
further 282g of cannabis,
$20,080 cash and an ice pipe.
Justice Graham Hiley said
Marriott‘s drug dealing was
not only contributing to his
own problems, but also the
misery of others.
“Your role, in effect as a
courier, was a significant role
because without couriers,
drugs do not get transported,”
Justice Hiley said.
“Even though you did not
manufacture the drugs in the
first place and even though I
gather you were not going to
cut up the drug and sell it to individuals, apart from this one
person, you are very much an
integral part of an awful drug
trade.”
A mobile phone was seized
from his house, which had text
messages between Marriott
and a person called Erin, who
referred to the cannabis as
“home-brews”.
Justice Hiley said special
laws were in place to protect
people from the dysfunction
caused by cannabis.
“This does not apply just to
Aboriginal people but sometimes, for some people, the
consumption of cannabis causes people to do things that they
would not normally do,” he
said. The sentence was backdated to March 1.
Centralian play may
reach TV audiences
Jim Robertson
ONE of the Northern Territory’s most
successful theatre productions, based
in Central Australia, is a step closer to
reaching television audiences through
a Screen Territory Grant.
Minister for Tourism and Culture
Lauren Moss announced the $20,000
story development grant for NTbased Brindle Films — to get
acclaimed production Broken on to
the small screen.
“Darwin playwright Mary Anne
Butler won the Victorian Prize for
Literature earlier this year for her
amazing play Broken which also won
the award for best drama,” Ms Moss
said.
Broken entwines the stories of
three complex lives as they unfold on
a single fateful night in the heart of
Australia’s desert country after a car
crash.
“Brindle Films also received a
$60,000 production finance grant for
its Sacred Song documentary which
tells the unknown story of choral
heritage of remote Aboriginal
communities throughout Central
Australia,” Ms Moss said.
The Sacred Song story is told
through the women that make up the
Central Australian Aboriginal
Women’s Choir, and their historical
tour of Germany.
“I congratulate Brindle Films on
their successful applications and
continuing their great work in the film
and television industry that has
already delivered popular TV drama 8
MMM Aboriginal Radio and
documentary Blown Away in recent
years,” Ms Moss said.
Brindle Films producer Rachel
Clements was thrilled to receive
funding for the two projects.
“We are delighted to receive
Screen Territory production funding
for Sacred Song and development
funding for Broken,” Ms Clements
said. “It is important for Australia’s
national cultural agenda that NT film
and television stories are produced,
and the NT industry is strong and
vibrant.”
NT journalist and producer Emma
Masters received a $20,000 story
development grant for her project
Shelter.
Mary Anne
Butler.
Picture: JOHN
APPLEYARD
MARK MCCRINDLE
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