Young meth trafficker pleads guilty for dealing at a luxury Melbourne hotel
A young drug dealer has pleaded guilty to trafficking meth at Hotel Chadstone.
On Friday, 21-year-old Zoe Patterson faced the County Court accused of meth trafficking with her partner in crime Ben Watson, a convicted drug dealer.
The pair was arrested in room 920 at the Hotel Chadstone MGallery by Sofitel on February 19 last year, after police found them with more than 500 grams of meth.
Police were alerted after two hotel staff noticed suspicious behaviour in the car park on 18 February 2020.
CCTV played to the court shows Watson and Patterson trying to conceal their bag of meth before getting into an elevator.
The room was searched by police and after they left, hotel housekeepers found receipts for ice pipes and mobile phones.
The prosecution acknowledged that Patterson didn’t know the exact amount of meth present, or specific quantities Watson had trafficked.
The court was told that since her arrest, Patterson has been undertaking extensive drug rehab.
The Pakenham based Patterson appeared in court via videolink from Odyssey House and will be sentenced at later date.
Watson will spend a maximum nine years and six months in jail, with a non-parole period of six years and nine months after being sentenced in February.
Irit Jackson, 16th August 2021
