Accused Pilbara drug dealer Bradley Mark Silvester denies organising 1500km drug run, hiding meth in trailer

A convicted drug dealer on trial for allegedly trying to smuggle meth into the Pilbara denies he organised the 1500km drug run — claiming he only went to the city to sell his boat, pay off a steroid drug debt and visit his daughter. Bradley Mark Silvester, 39, also denies he “used” his mate and co-accused, Ben George Errington, to secretly transport the near five ounces of ice into the region, as the pair travelled to Karratha on January 11, 2018. Before they could reach their final destination, both were arrested 60km outside Carnarvon after officers — who had been monitoring Mr Silvester’s mobile phones for two weeks — alerted local police to carry out a search. That search allegedly uncovered more than 137 grams of methamphetamine,concealed in the metal frame of the trailer being towed by Mr Errington’s Toyota Landcruiser. Both were charged with possessing the drug with the intent to sell or supply. They deny the charges. Prosecutors claim Mr Silvester orchestrated the trip to Perth to buy the meth so he could sell it up north for a profit and that he used $20,000 he received from his boat sale to pay for it. They claim he instructed Mr Errington, 42, to hire the trailer and that he hid the drugs in the metal frame. They also claim Mr Errington was aware his co-accused had the drugs when they left the city. However, in his opening statement, state prosecutor Ryan Arndt conceded Mr Errington may not have known where the drugs were hidden. During his lengthy testimony, Mr Silvester admitted he was a regular drug user and an “on-and-off again” gambler who had been caught with drugs on three other occasions in the past. But he said he “always pleaded guilty” when had done something wrong. However, he denied he hid the drugs that were found in the trailer. He told the court that several hours before he and Mr Errington departed Perth the pair had left the trailer at a “drug house” in Morley. “We went inside and all the boys were there,” he said. “It’s a drug house. “We unhooked the trailer there. I was in the house and used a bit of drugs, bit of cocaine, pills. “There were like 10 to 12 people there.” Mr Silvester told the court Mr Errington left early in the evening with a woman and that he left around the same time to inquire about an orange “drift car” that he wanted to buy with some of the money he received from the sale of the boat. He said he didn’t have all of the cash — saying he used some of the boat money to pay child support — for his purple ute, which had been fixed in Perth but was then impounded by police a few days earlier because he had lost his licence. He told the trial he also used some of the cash to pay off a steroid drug debt but claimed he was due to receive $94,000 in winnings from “spinning” on an online casino just before Christmas. He said he contacted Mr Errington after midnight to collect him from Dominos in Inglewood then the pair went back to the Morley house before setting off for Karratha at around 2am. When asked by Mr Errington’s lawyer, Bernard Standish, if it was true to say that his client was never in possession of the trailer on his own, Mr Silvester said the only time he could have been was while he was waiting for him outside a rug shop in Claremont a few days earlier. Mr Silvester also denied he directed Mr Errington to hire the trailer for him saying the pair had agreed to hire one because the 42-year-old needed to move his belongings back to Perth. When asked if he used Mr Errington “because of his generous nature” Mr Silvester hit back saying he was the generous one because he had given Mr Errington a place to stay and store his things when his relationship ended. He also denied he hid drugs in the trailer. “Mr Errington knew I had steroids on me, that’s it,” he said. When asked by his lawyer, Gary Rodgers, if he hid the drugs in the trailer, Mr Silvester replied: “No, I did not.” The trial continues.