Man with $ 3,000 a day methamphetamine drug addiction incarcerated in Dunedin

A man with a huge and enormously costly addiction to methamphetamine will continue his rehabilitation behind bars after being sentenced yesterday on a wide variety of charges.

The Dunedin District Court was told that drug dealer Eli Christie was a “middle man” in the illegal drug trade, but the thousands of dollars that passed through his hands went up in smoke due to his own drug addiction. of 3 g per day.

Prosecutor Richard Smith said the amount of the drug Christie used was one of the highest he had ever heard of and that it would have cost him about $ 3,000 a day.

Christie, who had an extensive list of prior convictions that included manufacturing methamphetamine for supply, had previously pleaded guilty to charges of supplying cocaine, supplying meth, illegal possession of a firearm and possession of stolen property.

The 49-year-old man’s last drug trafficking deal was discovered by police during 2018, and the organized crime unit carried out a three-month operation that found he was supplying drugs in Canterbury, Dunedin and Otago.

In a three-month period, Christie supplied a contact with 31 g of methamphetamine worth $ 21,000 on the street.

At some point during that period, Christie gave that contact to his 12-gauge double-barreled shotgun. Neither he nor the contact had a firearms license.

Shortly after, that contact contacted Christie and asked him to help her sell an ounce of cocaine that had been offered.

The two agreed to a trade, in which the contact traded half the cocaine for half an ounce of methamphetamine; Christie later told police that she did nothing with the deal.

Christie also conducted numerous drug deals with another contact, saying she would have supplied 15 ounces of methamphetamine, possibly worth as much as $ 250,000, in that time.

Christie also appeared in court for her involvement in the theft of a caravan in Christchurch.

Christie arranged to purchase the $ 60,000 Mercedes Benz mobile home but, having no cash available, traded in her $ 2000 Ford Falcon for it.

Christie told police that she knew the vehicle was stolen when she bought it, but that she needed a place to live due to a change in personal circumstances.

For Christie, Brian Kilkelly said his client had one of the scariest personal stories he had ever heard, both as a probation officer and as an attorney.

Without excusing Christie’s behavior, Christie’s childhood of neglect, violence and addiction was a factor in the way she had led her life, Kilkelly said.

However, during the time she was in custody awaiting sentencing, Christie had a new perception of her crime and decided to leave her old way of life behind.

Christie wanted to make the two-year commitment to enroll in Odyssey House’s rehab program, and Kilkelly asked for a prayer extension that would make it possible sooner rather than later.

Judge Michael Turner said there were contradictions between a cultural report on Christie and reports on alcohol and drugs.

Despite everything, Christie did not appear to have benefited financially and his addiction problems were accepted, his previous convictions demonstrated a consistent pattern of behavior, which included drug use only four hours after being released from a prison sentence for drug use .

Judge Turner sentenced Christie to a combination of 6 years and 3 months in prison for all charges, a minimum period of 3 years and 1 month to serve.