Accused Kojonup drug dealer refused bail after warrant allegedly reveals significant meth haul and drug money

A Kojonup woman allegedly found with more than 30g of methamphetamine and $3400 of drug money has been refused bail, after the court was told she reoffended while on bail for similar charges. Cinnamon Smith Manihera, 33, appeared before Albany Magistrates Court on Monday morning from police custody, charged with five new offences. She was charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell or supply, possession of stolen or unlawfully obtained property, possessing a prohibited weapon, possessing drug paraphernalia and possessing cannabis after her recent arrest. All five offences are alleged to have occurred in Kojonup on Sunday, when prosecutor Sgt Meagan Diver said local officers executed a search warrant at her Kojonup home. Sgt Diver said officers entered a caravan on the premises and allegedly found a locked box containing 34.94g of meth, $3450 in cash, along with Ms Manihera’s passport. Sgt Diver also noted Ms Manihera had been on bail for similar offending when she was apprehended by police, with a previous charge of intent to sell or supply meth ongoing in the Katanning Magistrates Court alongside other drug-related offending. The previous charge related to 22g of meth that police allegedly found during a search, hidden in the waistband of her shorts, Sgt Diver said. Sgt Diver told the court on April 13 that Ms Manihera had not been employed over the past year, and that police suspected her of using illicit drug sales to support herself over this time period. She also noted that Ms Manihera was a New Zealand citizen, and said police held concerns that she would attempt to abscond to her native country to avoid prosecution if released on bail. Duty lawyer Eva Svanberg told the court Ms Manihera instructed she had fallen on hard times with deaths in the family and ongoing injuries from a car accident, and could comply with any condition set by the court for her bail. Magistrate Rosemarie Myers said she did not consider the circumstances to be exceptional enough to warrant bail for Ms Manihera, and also said that the fact she had not only been found with a “significant” quantity of methamphetamine, she had reoffended while on bail for a very similar charge. Ms Meyers said even if there had been exceptional circumstances, the repetitive and serious nature of Ms Manihera’s alleged offending would have made her unsatisfied to release her on bail. Ms Manihera was refused bail and will next appear before Katanning Magistrates Court on April 21 for legal advice on all her current charges.