A man who played a major role in a Wollongong cocaine syndicate and sold drugs to support his addiction has been given a three-year jail sentence.
Morgan Swift, 25, worked as a “willing apprentice” for father-and-son co-offenders, Robert and Daniel Bojlevski, wh[contents h2]o were leaders of a drug ring, Wollongong District Court heard today.
Swift acted as a “courier”, supplying 138.44 grams of cocaine to the local community over a period of nine months in 2021, the court heard.
Judge Andrew Haesler said Swift was selling the drug for financial purposes and to fuel his own addiction — with each gram sold for anywhere between $200 and $600.
Police arrested Swift after a “sophisticated” investigation, where mobile calls and messages were intercepted, the court heard.
Appearing by video link from Mid North Coast Correctional Centre, Swift earlier pleaded guilty to suppling a commercial quantity of cocaine, dealing with property and proceeds of crime (less than $100,000), participating in a criminal group, supplying an indictable amount of cannabis, and using a phone while driving. Swift has been in custody since his arrested in September 2021.
Swift became addicted to cocaine drugs as a way of “self-medicating” from past trauma, the court heard. “He felt a sense of self-doubt after a traumatic upbringing, and began taking drugs at an age too young to make decisions,” Judge Haesler said.
Swift became addicted to drugs as a way of “self-medicating” from past trauma, the court heard.
“He felt a sense of self-doubt after a traumatic upbringing, and began taking drugs at an age too young to make decisions,” Judge Haesler said.
Swift supplied a letter to the court, in which he said jail time had acted as a wake-up call, and he felt “motivated to change”.
“I don’t want this life — being stuck in jail,” Swift wrote in the letter.
“I have a partner who I want to make my wife one day, and I want to give kids a life where they don’t have to go through this.”
Judge Haesler noted Swift’s support, provided by three women present in court.
“His partner has stood by him through jail — he’s a very lucky man — many others would’ve abandoned”.
Defence lawyer Scott Fraser said Swift’s two years in custody since his arrest were already “substantial”, and his prospects for rehabilitation were good.
Swift was incarcerated at a time when COVID was rampant across NSW, limiting visitors and forcing offenders into cell isolation for days at a time, the court heard.
The court heard Daniel Bojlevski — who Judge Haesler described as “the boss” of the drug ring — ran the “sophisticated operation”.
“The drug supply involved management of ‘runners’, using encrypted devices and supplying drugs obtained from outside suppliers,” Judge Haesler said.
The judge said 1kg of cocaine had a street worth of anywhere from $180,000 to $280,000.
“Those figures indicate the kind of profits made by those who engage in the sale of drugs,” he said.
He said Swift had “ambitions” to earn more, having developed his own “customer base”.
Swift also supplied 9.4kg of cannabis, the court heard.
Although Swift was considered “at the bottom” of the operation, Judge Haesler noted the severe effect drugs had on the community.
“Without people like Swift, these drug networks would collapse,” he said.
“He saw himself as a willing apprentice — active, persistent and willing.”
The court heard Swift was “at the direction of Bojlevski”, arranging drug meets from safe houses, hiring cars, handling cash, dealing with profits and adding additives to the cocaine.
In handing down the sentence, Judge Haesler noted the “noble” letter Swift had written in jail.
“Your statement will have to be tested in the community,” he said.
“Judges have a degree of cynicism — we see the failures and don’t always see the successes.”
Judge Haesler said Swift had a good chance of rehabilitation if he received treatment and support in the community.
Swift will be eligible for release on parole on December 5, with his three-year prison sentence backdated to his arrest on September 6, 2021.
