Tragic reason nursing student photographed slumped in the gutter at Randwick

A nursing student who was busted with 23 bags of cocaine during a major police crackdown on dial-a-dealer drug gangs has told a court she turned to crime to help her mother support her eight children.

Mariam Deng, 20, was arrested by undercover officers on December 9 last year while delivering drugs to a customer in Randwick, Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

The arrest was one of 187 under Operation Northrop as part of a major pre-Christmas sting in which officers seized more than $250,000 in cash and 633g of cocaine.

Deng appeared in Waverley local court on Wednesday, flanked by a girlfriend, and pleaded guilty to three charges of drug supply and one charge of handling the proceeds of crime.

The court heard that Deng was just 19 when she was caught with 19.33 grams of cocaine and $850 in cash after making a drug deal in Randwick.

According to police facts, undercover officers became suspicious after seeing Deng driving a white Kia around Barangaroo in the city’s CBD.

They followed the teen five miles to Randwick, where they saw her pick up another person, drive around the block, and drop the passenger off at the same spot.

Officers apprehended Deng and searched the car, finding the drugs, cash and an iPhone containing encrypted WhatsApp messages with instructions for her to take 2 bags to Barangaroo and one to Randwick. The total revenue for both jobs was $850.

In a court report handing down her sentence, Deng said she had a difficult childhood after her family emigrated from Sudan in 2003.

Deng, the fourth of eight children, said her single mother counted on her for support from an early age.

At the time of the violation, Deng said her three older siblings had left home and after losing her job, she began dealing drugs to help her mother financially.

The court heard that Deng is not on drugs and is studying nursing at TAFE to earn a degree, with plans to apply to continue her studies at Macquarie University.

Deng’s legal aid attorney argued that the teen should be eligible for community punishment because she had already been “punished” due to “public admonition” following media reports of her involvement in the drug bust.

Deng, from Erskine Park in the west of the city, was led away from the scene in handcuffs

The lawyer added that Deng was now employed, had expressed remorse and shame, and that those around her have described the offending as “our character” and fueled by “desperation.”

The police prosecutor noted that it was Deng’s first offence, but argued that the seriousness of the charges warranted a prison sentence and that the evidence showed some degree of planning.

He also noted that the maximum sentence for supplying drugs is two years behind bars and three years for tackling the proceeds of a crime.

Magistrate Christine Haskett, addressing Deng, acknowledged the hardships of her family circumstances, but said she could have asked her three older sisters – all of whom have jobs – for financial help rather than turning to nefarious activities.

“Did you ask them for help?” Magistrate Haskett asked.

“No,” Deng replied.

“They should be helping your family instead of relying on you when you lost your job,” Magistrate Haskett said.

Deng appeared in Waverley District Court on Wednesday where she pleaded guilty to four charges

The 20-year-old refused to answer questions about the incident and covered her face as she left court

“If there are problems in your family, it is better to ask your older brothers and sisters for help than to sell drugs.”

Magistrate Haskett sided with the defense, telling Deng, “I’m not going to send you to jail today.”

She placed her on four 12-month good behavior bonds to be served concurrently with the recorded convictions.

Outside of court, Deng refused to answer reporters’ questions about her offense.

She covered her face with a coat and ran out the front door into a waiting car.

Photos taken at the time of her arrest show Deng sitting barefoot in the gutter, shielding her face with her shirt as officers search her white Kia, which was fitted with a baby seat in the back and littered with fast food wrappers.

The two-month police operation reportedly turned up $280,000 worth of coke, heroin, mushrooms, LSD tabs and cannabis gummies in arrests in suburbs ranging from Surry Hills to Zetland, Newtown to Ramsgate and Narwee to Kellyville.