Women to fight drug verdicts
Two women jailed over a drugs conspiracy that was run by fugitive Bernd Neumann and allegedly involved head-in-a-bag murder victim Stephen Cookson have lodged appeals against their convictions and sentences.
Neumann's trusted girlfriend Loriana Crews and one of the syndicate's drug suppliers Lejla Tresjno were convicted by a District Court jury last June over their roles in the 2010 plot to import methylamphetamines from NSW to WA.
Crews is arguing her guilty verdicts for two charges of possessing methylamphetamine with intent to sell or supply were unreasonable or could not be supported based on the evidence.
A hearing will be held next month for the court to decide whether the 63-year-old is given leave to appeal against her convictions.
She has also lodged an appeal against her nine-year jail term, claiming it was "manifestly excessive" and wants Legal Aid to represent her in the legal challenges.
Crews was in a relationship with Neumann when he was doing a deal with Cookson to bring drugs to WA.
When a dispute over the quality of drugs forced Neumann to find a new supplier, self-proclaimed "party girl" Tresjno became involved.
Neumann was jailed for 15 years and declared a drug trafficker in June 2012 over the multimillion-dollar drug conspiracy. But he has been on the run since February, when he escaped unnoticed from prison guards while walking a puppy during an outing at a suburban oval.
When District Court Judge Patrick O'Neal sentenced the two women in August, he described Tresjno as "the moving force" that enabled the group to get hold of almost 900g of methylamphetamine. She was sentenced to 10 years' jail for possessing methylamphetamines with intent to sell or supply.
