A DRUG supplier used the code word "rump steak" to describe cannabis but was caught when a police phone tap recorded him asking for $3000 a pound, a Cairns court heard yesterday.

Banana grower William Alan Billingsley, 51, of Innisfail, avoided a prison term when sentenced in the Supreme Court yesterday, after pleading guilty at the latest possible moment.

A jury had already been called for his trial.

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Billingsley was charged with two counts of possessing more than 500g of cannabis and two counts of supplying cannabis between September 2004 and March 2006.

The court heard his exploits were uncovered when telephone calls were intercepted by police during investigation Operation Charlie Thatch in 2006.

Prosecutor Michael Connolly said police overheard the defendant referring to rump steak, kilos and money, with Billingsley offering to supply a pound – about 500g – of cannabis for $3000.

However, Mr Connolly said the potential buyer declined the offer, saying he could get a better product and better price, elsewhere.

Defence barrister Michael Sumner-Potts said his client was now running a successful banana farming business in Innisfail.

Mr Sumner-Potts said Billingsley had been an alcoholic until the age of 32 and then turned to drugs, but was now "clean" of both.

Judge Cullinane noted Billingsley’s extensive criminal history involving drugs, which spanned more than 20 years.

He sentenced him to two and a half years’ jail, wholly suspended for five years.

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