Ben Mayo sentenced to two years and 10 months for cultivating and supplying magic mushrooms

What happened

Ben Mayo was sentenced in Tauranga District Court this week after pleading guilty to five drug-related charges involving the possession, cultivation, and supply of Class A drugs. Police found hundreds of pre-packed vacuum-sealed bags of magic mushrooms weighing almost 12kg in his wardrobe, bags and shed, along with eight large plastic containers of growing mushrooms, $60,000 in cash under a couch, and a laboratory with equipment for manufacturing both psilocybin mushrooms and DMT. He had also been importing material declared to customs as aromatic herbs to extract and manufacture DMT. His lawyer argued the psychedelic drugs were at the lowest end of harm and that Mayo, who is neurodiverse with ADHD and autistic traits, had found them helpful and was essentially providing a service rather than running a commercial operation. The Crown prosecutor countered that it was clearly a commercial operation and that the lab was relatively sophisticated. Judge Paul Geoghegan set a starting point of six years' imprisonment, then applied a series of discounts totalling approximately 52 percent, resulting in a final sentence of two years and 10 months. Mayo wept as sentence was handed down, and his lawyer immediately indicated instructions to appeal. He was granted bail pending the appeal.

Key facts

• Almost 12kg of magic mushrooms found in vacuum-sealed bags
• $60,000 in cash discovered under couch
• Final sentence two years and 10 months after discounts
• Five drug-related charges including importation, manufacture and possession for supply
• Sentenced in Tauranga District Court

What happens next

Mayo's appeal is pending; he was granted bail in the meantime.

Primary source: Tauranga District Court sentencing

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