Source : the age
By Rex Martinich
A former Brisbane doctor who trafficked a “breathtaking” amount of prescription medication to bikie gang members has been jailed.
John Robert Ullman, 57, pleaded guilty on Friday in Queensland Supreme Court to one count of drug trafficking and nine counts of drug supply.
Justice Rebecca Treston heard Ullman used his clinic at Chermside in Brisbane’s north as a front to illegally sell the anti-anxiety drug benzodiazepine and steroids.
John Robert Ullman pleaded guilty on Friday in Queensland Supreme Court.Credit: Dan Peled
Crown prosecutor Sam Sherrie said Ullman sold drugs on 76 occasions to 31 people over almost three years to September 2020, including to members of the Comanchero bikie gang.
“He often charged a consultation fee in addition to his mark-up on the price of the drugs,” Sherrie said.
Ullman would supply the drugs in his office in amounts that required a garbage bag.
Treston said Ullman made up to $1.52 million from his drug trafficking.
“The sum is indicative of the breathtaking amount of drugs you supplied,” she said.
Treston said one of Ullman’s customers was arrested while leaving the clinic with 2500 tablets.
Ullman became the biggest customer for certain drugs at legitimate wholesalers, ordering more than pharmacies and hospitals.
“He purchased 1567 units of Valium, which represented roughly 26 per cent of that company’s total sales of that drug,” Sherrie said.
Coming off benzodiazepines is not easy as they can have worse withdrawal symptoms than heroin or ice.Credit: Rob Banks
Ullman, a hormone balancing specialist, was suspended as a medical practitioner after his arrest.
Treston heard his registration was restored, but with so many conditions, it made him unemployable.
Sherrie submitted to Treston that Ullman be sentenced to eight to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Ullman’s barrister, Jeffrey Hunter, said the prosecution had overstated the seriousness of his client’s offending, and that benzodiazepine abuse caused an “order of magnitude” less social harm than methamphetamines.
“We reject that this offending was sophisticated. Much evidence was obtained from a camera above the front door of his office,” Hunter said.
He said Ullman had naively entered into business with a bikie gang and became “entangled”.
“He arrived at work and one or more of these people would be waiting for him,” Hunter said.
“On one occasion, a former patient placed a handgun on the desk while they were speaking.”
Treston said Ullman committed serious offences and a significant breach of the trust placed in him.
“Your position as a doctor is probably the most significant aggravating factor,” she said.
“As a doctor, you must have understood the harm affected on society at large by the supply of dangerous drugs, yet you persisted.”
Treston said Ullman was now working as a labourer and earning a fraction of his previous income.
“The loss of your relationship with your family is the greatest punishment you have suffered,” she said.
Treston accepted that Ullman had worked towards his rehabilitation while on bail, and that there was no real risk that he would reoffend.
Ullman was sentenced to 6½ years’ jail and will be eligible for parole on July 5, 2028.
AAP
