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Jo McKenzie-McLean / Stuff
Harriet Patricia Magon, 26, has been incarcerated by the Alexandra District Court for drug offenses.
Police have thwarted the well-planned drug deal of a woman targeting young high school students in Central Otago.
Harriet Patricia Magon, 26, was sentenced Thursday to 23 months in prison by Alexandra District Court for drug-related offenses, including selling cannabis to children as young as 13.
The Christchurch woman had previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession for supplying cannabis and two representative counts of supplying cannabis to persons under the age of 18.
Judge Michael Turner said Magon was captured after Central Otago police became concerned about “significant” use of cannabis within a group of high school students.
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“The police identified the accused as a person of interest and her activities came under scrutiny.”
Police discovered that Magon was selling drugs to a group between the ages of 13 and 17.
A 14-year-old girl typically texted Magon on her own behalf or on behalf of others within her peer group.
Sometimes other children contact Magon directly to buy cannabis.
Cannabis would be purchased in $ 50 bags containing approximately 2 grams of the drug. The teens often pooled their money to offset the $ 50 purchase price and shared the cannabis with each other, Turner said.
Magon moved from Christchurch to Alexandra in early 2020 and was living with her extended family, including a 13-year-old niece to whom she also sold cannabis.
Text messages and bank records show that he sold cannabis from February 1 to the time of his arrest on June 24.
Between March 25 and June 24, Magon sold cannabis to people under 18 at least 19 times and to people over 18 at least 64 times.
Police arrested Magon on June 24 after he met with a group of young people at an Alexandra home. There were no adults on the floor.
Police searched the property and found 450g of cannabis divided into 16 bags with a total street value of $ 12,500.
A search of Magon’s bedroom unearthed a “checklist” outlining the money he was owed. The names included children as young as 14 years old.
Hundreds of unused plastic snap-lock bags were also found, used to package $ 50 batches of cannabis.
“This was a well-planned commercial operation that according to the police would have continued had she not been arrested and from which she has benefited,” the judge said.
Magón did not want to cooperate and gave nonsensical answers when questioned by the police.
Judge Turner said the aggravating features of the crime were “obvious”, including the length of the crime, the regular supply of cannabis to children as young as 13 and the breach of trust in supplying his young niece.
Magón’s crime also occurred while she was appearing in court on methamphetamine charges, the judge noted.
