Bunbury-born man Brodie Mitchell Shreeve avoids jail but declared drug trafficker after possessing MDMA

A 20-year-old man has avoided jail for possessing almost 30g of MDMA with the intention to sell to others and has been declared a drug trafficker despite abstaining from using illicit substances since his arrest. Brodie Mitchell Shreeve was sentenced to 18 months jail that was suspended for the same amount of time by the Bunbury District Court on Monday after pleading guilty to possessing MDMA with intent to sell or supply, along with possessing $13,000 cash suspected to have been unlawfully obtained. The court was told Shreeve had been arrested by Bunbury detectives in relation to another matter during the afternoon of July 13 last year and was taken back to his Leschenault home where a search was conducted of the caravan he resided in on the property. During the search, police located a black bum bag and a box which contained a clip-seal bag containing various quantities of MDMA, totalling 29.98g. Detectives also uncovered various items indicative of drug dealing, including digital scales, gelatine capsules, unused clip-seal bags and $13,000 cash. Police also seized Shreeve’s mobile phone which contained messages relating to drug dealing. In a police interview conducted after the search, Shreeve made admissions to selling MDMA on Snapchat, selling 10 capsules for $200. In submissions, Shreeve’s defence counsel Paul Chapman told the court his client began experimenting with MDMA after initially using it socially with a former partner and they increased their use as her mental health spiralled. It was also submitted that when the couple broke up, Shreeve stopped using MDMA and began selling off what he had left. “He was young and dumb and just made a dumb decision to go down this road,” Mr Chapman said. “He had decided before the offence that he wasn’t going to use this substance again.” The court was also told Shreeve had since moved out of Bunbury and obtained full-time employment that requires him to undergo random urinalysis testing and had returned 12 negative tests. It was also submitted that about $3000 of the $13,000 cash were profits from Shreeve’s drug dealing. District Court Judge Christian Miocevich formed the view the jail term imposed could be suspended due to Shreeve’s youth and lack of prior criminal record. Along with the suspended jail term, Judge Miocevich also formally declared Shreeve a drug trafficker.