A young man will join his uncle in prison after they both instigated a major drug operation in Ballarat, making and selling pills at night clubs.
Nathan Weightman, 23, was sentenced to 16 months' imprisonment at the County Court of Victoria on Thursday for trafficking drugs and possessing a pill press.
For the first time, The Courier can reveal his uncle, Ian Weightman, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years' imprisonment in April last year for the same Offenses.
Three years ago the Weightmans started making and selling thousands of inexpensive pills, along with then 19-year-old DJ Peter Moore.
The operation was based at Ian's Redman house where a pill press was set up to make the drugs, which Moore sold at Ballarat nightclubs. Some of the pills contained low levels of the drug MDMA.
The Weightman men made a batch of pills emblazoned with Transformer logos, while on another day Moore helped Nathan work the press to make 2000 pills.
On another occasion, Nathan turned up at the Golden Point home he shared with Moore carrying a bag of 2000 yellow pills marked with Homer Simpson emblem.
Three months after starting the drug business, police searched the trio's houses in October, uncovering a large quantity of pills and powder, cash and drug paraphernalia associated with trafficking.
Nathan persisted with a plea of not guilty for two-and-a-half years before he admitted to dealing the drugs and possessing the tablet press.
County Court Judge John Smallwood told Nathan his offending must be regarded as serious.
"Clearly over that period of time a very significant number of pills were manufactured by you and your uncle for the purpose of selling for profit and Mr Moore was involved in all that in terms of trafficking and the distribution," Judge Smallwood said.
"Yours is a situation where it's clear that you were very much involved in it
"You were certainly aware of the potential consequences of this
"You are to be sentenced for a serious example of trafficking over an extended period of time where you knew what you were doing and you were an instigator and directly involved in it"
The Judge told Nathan he had pleaded guilty late in the Court process after he was committed to stand trial.
The Judge said he took into account Nathan's good work ethic, family support and his rehabilitation "which means the risk of you re-offending should be low, depending on the future".
He said Nathan had been on bail for the past two-and-a-half years, which included a curfew from 9pm to 6am.
Nathan, who was born in Ballarat and moved to Mildura, became a successful harness racing driver after he obtained his license when he was 16.
"I am very aware you are still a very young man, I am very aware you haven't offended since (2017) and I am very aware that you have no prior convictions," Judge Smallwood said.
Nathan was sentenced to 16 months' imprisonment with a no-parole period of eight months.
He has served 14 days of the sentence.
If he did not plead guilty, he would have been jailed for two years with a minimum of 15 months, according to the Judge.
Nathan pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking and one count each of possessing a tablet press and dealing with proceeds of crime.
A suppression order on Ian's case was lifted after his nephew's sentence on Thursday. The 62 year-old was sentenced to two and a half years' imprisonment in April last year. He pleaded guilty to trafficking and processing a tablet press.
Moore was sentenced to 10 months' youth detention in May, 2018, after pleading guilty to drug trafficking and possessing a pill press.
By Erin Williams