A man who sold methamphetamine to undercover police operatives at a Casterton hotel has been jailed for three months after losing an appeal seeking to have the sentence reduced.
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Brendan Consentine, 33, of Casterton, previously pleaded guilty in Hamilton Magistrates Court to drug trafficking and was jailed for three months.
He appealed against the sentence in Warrnambool County Court on Tuesday.
The court heard Consentine was working as a barman at Casterton's Glenelg Inn on December 11 when he met two men he didn't know were undercover police operatives.
The trio began playing pool and had a number of conversations before one of the officers asked Consentine if he knew where to get a gram of shard (methamphetamine).
Consentine said he could supply a point of methamphetamine for $50 or half a gram for between $200 and $250, if it was available.
Some hours later, Consentine attended the police officers' hotel room and said he was unable to get what they wanted but offered them a small amount of his own methamphetamine.
Consentine refused payment one to two times before agreeing to trade the drugs for $100.
The court heard Consentine and the officers also traded phone numbers but when he was contacted the following week, he did not respond.
Lawyer Avi Furstenberg said the offending was "more of a social transaction than a financial one" and did not warrant a term of imprisonment.
He said his client was approached by the police operatives and after friendly conversation and banter, he offered them a small amount of drugs he had for personal use.
"It was only when police insisted he take payment that he agreed," Mr Furstenberg said.
"Had he just given it away, he wouldn't have been charged with trafficking."
Mr Fursternburg said an appropriate sentence was either a fine or a corrections order.
Magistrate Michael O'Connell said he didn't accept "a monetary penalty was is in anyway appropriate".
He said Consentine had plenty of opportunities to not seek profit from the sale of drugs.
The appeal was dismissed and the man was taken into custody where he will spend the next three months.
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