Kahlan Duncan is charged with supplying or knowingly taking part in the supply of a prohibited drug but maintains he was giving friends synthetic drugs – which at the time weren’t illegal.

The accused took to the stand in Tamworth Local Court yesterday to give evidence and argues he wasn’t breaking the law.

“I don’t believe I’ve done anything illegal,” he said.

“The substances that were found on me weren’t illegal.”

Duncan came under the notice of police when he was stopped by Oxley Highway Patrol on the Fossickers Way in Barraba on May 12 last year.

A sports bag containing several resealable bags raised police suspicions, but it was the evidence on Duncan’s phone that investigators concentrated their efforts on.

Detectives downloaded the contents of the phone and will allege Duncan was involved in the supply of illegal drugs, namely ecstasy.

Prosecutor Matthew Price cross-examined the accused on the stand, picking apart the language used in hundreds of text messages found on the phone that were sent and received between September 2012 and May last year. 

“Have you got any good stuff?” Mr Price told the court while reading out some of the text messages.

“How many times did you hand out the red and black pills?” Mr Price asked Duncan.

“I can’t recall,” Duncan replied.

“Where would you hand these pills out?” Mr Price asked.

“Just Tamworth,” he replied.

The court was told common drug terminology such as “roundies” was used in some of the text messages, but Duncan maintains he was buying and handing out synthetic drugs such as herbal pills – something that was only deemed to be illegal late last year when new laws were passed.

“That terminology could be used anywhere,” Duncan told the court.

“You could buy legal substances from tobacconists, off the internet.”

Duncan denied any involvement in supplying ecstasy tablets and claims there is no proof he’s done anything illegal.

“I’m not denying the messages in my phone. I was making wrong life decisions,” he said.

“I didn’t make any illegal life decisions.”

After the evidence was delivered in court, Magistrate Roger Prowse said the prosecution was entitled to extra time to explore some of the avenues.

“There are matters raised by Mr Duncan which weren’t raised in his ERISP (electronically recorded interview of a suspected person),” he said.

“The Crown ought to be able to investigate it.”

Duncan remains on bail, with the case adjourned to next month.