Dale Orlando Nicholls admitted he stole 67.7 kilogrammes of cannabis from a northern beach and kept it at his home after he saw “a move going down”. That decision has now led to him being slapped with a $40 000 fine in the High Court.

The resident of Scotts Terrace, Grazettes, reappeared in the No. 4 Supreme Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to having and trafficking 67.7 kilogrammes of cannabis on April 20, 2019.

Asking for leniency, he said: “From the bottom of my heart, I must apologise about the course that I took within that decision… I was prominent at the time in my landscaping business, and I made a silly decision. There were a lot of things on my mind. I guess when pressure takes hold sometimes you take what isn’t always the rightest decision.”