A man accused of selling $700,000 worth of cannabis seeds online has been granted bail and warned it would be “pure stupidity” to break his strict release conditions.
Samuel Joseph Topia, 40, appeared in Brisbane Supreme Court today via videolink and represented himself in his bail application.
Topia was charged on August 19, 2024 with cannabis production, possession, supply, importation and trafficking at a farming property outside Kingaroy, west of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
Prosecutors alleged Topia had been running an online business offering sales of 285 types of cannabis seeds and had 1800 packages ready to fulfil orders.
Justice Melanie Hindman asked Topia why she should grant him bail when he had previously been convicted of similar offending at the same farm in April 2023.
“It looks like what you do is immediately go back and start doing the exact same thing that just got you into trouble,” Justice Hindman said.
Topia said his time on remand since his arrest was the first time he had been in custody.
“In the past I was misled over certain regulations I was entitled to under the research I had done,” Topia said.
Justice Hindman said Topia must have known after he was convicted that he could not continue the research he claimed to be doing on an illegal plant.
