‘Middle-class’ Melbourne drug queen Tess Rowlatt has fronted court after she was busted fleeing from a bikie’s BMW with a big bag of meth.
Rowlatt, 36, appeared before the Melbourne County Court on Thursday where she pleaded guilty to trafficking meth and dealing with the proceeds of crime.
The convicted drug trafficker was nabbed by police in Melbourne high-rise district Southbank just before 1am on August 16 last year.
Cops had noticed a black BMW X5 the court heard was registered to an individual with a firearm prohibition order and ‘outlaw motorcycle gang affiliations’.
Police followed the BMW for a short distance then lit it up, at which stage it stopped and Rowlatt bolted from the vehicle.
Police chose to let the BMW drive off and instead chased down Rowlatt, who raced towards Southside Tower on Sturt St.
Rowlatt, who was well-presented at court wearing a white shirt and grey skirt, was caught with more than 100g of meth in her black handbag.
The former marketing high-flyer was also caught with 1,4‑butanediol – a commercial-grade solvent that converts into the party drug GHB when ingested.
Melbourne party girl Tess Rowlatt has pleaded guilty to trafficking meth. A Corrections Victoria support worker described her in court as ‘quite middle-class’ unlike others in prison
Rowlatt was busted with more than 100g of meth
Rowlatt was also caught with $750 in cash and bank cards in other people’s names.
Police hauled Rowlatt away for questioning before she was charged and remanded in the notorious Dame Phyllis Frost Centre.
The court did not hear whether Rowlatt identified the bikie who owned the BMW, or whether that person was behind the wheel at the time.
Rowlatt, who was living in Tylden, in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges, at the time of her latest arrest, was serving a four-year community correction order for prior trafficking offences.
Judge Duncan Allen, who sentenced Rowlatt for her prior offending in February 2024, also presided over Thursday’s plea hearing, which was attended by the drug dealer’s family, friends and boyfriend Timmy O’Dwyer.
Rowlatt’s sister Victoria Rowlatt, who appeared remotely, and O’Dwyer both submitted character references to Judge Allen.
Victoria, who lives in the beachside suburb of Elwood, claims to have worked at Fox FM and Mediaweek and appears to be a part-time social media influencer.
Both sisters attended the prestigious Canterbury Girls’ School – but while Victoria flaunts her glamorous lifestyle, party girl Rowlatt now sits behind bars.
The court heard Rowlatt wants to live with her boyfriend Timmy O’Dwyer (above)
Rowlatt’s sister Victoria Rowlatt (pictured) wrote her a character reference for the court
The court heard that it was suggested Rowlatt could either live with her parents on their Macedon Ranges farm or move in with O’Dwyer in St Kilda.
Judge Allen, who said he preferred the ‘St Kilda option’, asked O’Dwyer if he had a ‘history of drug use’ but he did not take to the witness box to respond.
Barrister Candice Jackson, for Rowlatt, assured that O’Dwyer did not use drugs nor was he using drugs in the months he was dating his girlfriend prior to her arrest.
Meanwhile, a supporter of Rowlatt exclaimed that she ‘looked stressed’ as she sat motionless in the dock.
The court heard that Rowlatt had a 17-year history of drug abuse which began when she was 19.
Despite this, and her history as a prominent drug dealer in Melbourne, Corrections Victoria had earlier assessed Rowlatt as having a ‘low risk of reoffending’.
It was also determined after her February 2024 sentencing that Rowlatt only required a single day of drug rehabilitation, which was completed within three months of commencing her longer-than-usual community correction order.
Further, Rowlatt was allowed to complete 400 hours of community service ‘working from home’. The exact nature of the work wasn’t revealed in court but whatever Rowlatt did it ended up benefiting a kindergarten in Kyneton.
The court heard Rowlatt had a 17-year history of drug abuse which began when she was 19
The court was told that Rowlatt’s boyfriend Timmy O’Dwyer (pictured) did not use drugs
This was clearly inadequate, allowing Rowlatt to relapse into drugs and offending.
Judge Allen lambasted the ‘system’ for contributing to Rowlatt’s latest troubles, after he had previously determined she was ‘wholly rehabilitated’.
‘Clearly, an abject failure [has occurred],’ he said.
‘I didn’t expect for one second anyone would tell her we don’t need to see you anymore [after three months on the community correction order].’
Experienced Crown prosecutor Matthew Cookson countered by telling the court that Rowlatt was ‘entirely responsible’ for her reoffending after she was previously given an ‘exceptional opportunity of mercy’.
Judge Allen rejected Cookson’s submission.
Rowlatt’s ‘significant prior’ offending was her role running a major drug racket run out of 16 Melbourne Airbnbs between July and October 2021.
Rowlatt may be given another chance in a drug clinic after previous attempts to rehabilitate her were deemed inadequate
Rowlatt served just 419 days in jail despite pleading guilty to trafficking a commercial quantity of drugs.
Covert cops had secretly tracked Rowlatt and another suspected drug dealer during an investigation that lasted several months and involved hours of physical and electronic surveillance.
She was eventually arrested at her Upper West Side apartment on Spencer St on October 21, 2021.
Rowlatt initially faced more than 70 charges, including trafficking a large commercial quantity of meth and heroin and trafficking bute, known to be a deadly rave drug.
A Melbourne court previously heard allegations Rowlatt shifted between 16 separate Airbnb properties, including the View Hotel St Kilda and Upper West Side in the city.
Police had alleged Rowlatt stayed at the properties for periods lasting between a night and a few days while she sold vast amounts of meth.
Rowlatt sold drugs at the short-stay properties which police alleged she secured using fake IDs.
The court also heard a prior allegation Rowlatt made multiple drug deals including a single transaction suspected to be worth $34,000.
Police uncovered the evidence after seizing several of Rowlatt’s devices.
The glamorous party girl, who claimed on social media that she had graduated from Monash University before holding sales roles in multiple marketing companies, is now locked away at Dame Phyllis Frost, where she has been for the past 222 days.
Her lawyers are seeking to use her time in prison lockdowns due to staff shortages as a mitigating factor for a shorter jail term.
Judge Allen said he required more evidence before deciding whether the conditions at the jail Rowlatt lives in alongside mushroom killer Erin Patterson are enough to warrant a sentence reduction.
A Corrections Victoria employee also entered the witness box to say that she sees Rowlatt on a weekly basis.
The support worker said she would be able to assist Rowlatt after her release, telling the court she ‘seems more serious than she’s ever been’ in wanting to rehabilitate.
‘She’s quite middle-class, she’s quite different to the average prisoner,’ they said.
However, the support worker told the court that Rowlatt had previously lied to psychologists about her drug use and could not fully guarantee she could trust her honesty now.
Judge Allen adjourned the matter so the parties could gather more evidence, but told Rowlatt he wanted to bail her to a drug rehabilitation facility and defer sentencing when the matter returns on April 30.
