Arabic version: جندي سابق يتجنب السجن بتهمة الاتجار بالكوكايين

According to ABC News, former Australian Army rifleman and field medic Brett McMaster has avoided immediate jail after pleading guilty to trafficking cocaine while serving in Townsville.

McMaster, 24, appeared in the Supreme Court of Queensland in Townsville on Monday and pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine in 2024 and possessing an item involved in trafficking. He had served with the Townsville-based armoured infantry battalion 3RAR.

The court heard McMaster bought 45 grams of cocaine over six weeks from fellow soldier Jack Alex Cullen, paying in cash and sometimes placing payments in Cullen’s army backpack at Lavarack Barracks. Cullen was jailed in May after pleading guilty to trafficking large quantities of cocaine while serving as an army infantry soldier.

Justice Christopher Johnstone KC described McMaster’s conduct as “offensive”, saying he had abused the honour, privilege and trust of being an Australian Defence Force member. The judge questioned a message McMaster sent to Cullen saying he was “slowly getting more blokes onto my stuff”, and accepted prosecutors’ submissions that McMaster had ambitions to grow his business before he was caught.

McMaster was discharged from the army after failing a drug test in 2024, around the time he was charged. His barrister, Ross Malcomson, submitted a psychiatrist report stating that McMaster had self-medicated mental health challenges with cocaine.

He received a four-year prison term suspended for five years provided he does not reoffend. McMaster was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine over 12 months for possessing a phone used in trafficking and to repay the Commonwealth $36,000 from a $50,000 ADF retention bonus. He will continue receiving Department of Veterans Affairs payments related to army injuries.