A meth and heroin-addicted Indian immigrant truck driver has been jailed for robbing an Adelaide service station and leading police on a dangerous car chase while disqualified from driving.
Manoj Kumar, 33, pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and three driving offences over the November 2025 hold-up at an Ampol petrol station in Dry Creek where he brandished an imitation firearm and made off with $400 in cash. He was serving a suspended sentence for drug-driving at the time.
He faced the South Australia District Court last week where Judge Jane Schammer sentenced him to three years, 10 months and 24 days’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of one year and 11 months, and noted he faced being deported to India after being released.
After the robbery and high-speed pursuit Kumar spent 16 days in custody on remand, and was released to home detention until his bail was revoked on June 19, which the judge considered as time served.
The court heard Kumar graduated from Punjab University with a Bachelor of Arts in 2016 and came to Australia the following year with his wife on a temporary visa, and that he paid her university fees while working as a car washer, casual cleaner and interstate truck driver.
The couple were granted permanent residency in 2022, but Kumar was then divorced by his wife, which the judge said had “financial ramifications” for him.
“You had to move into shared accommodation and were working long hours as a truck driver simply to make ends meet. It was in this context that you foolishly accepted ice and methamphetamine when offered to you by a friend,” Judge Schammer told him in sentencing.
“Although you have described your drug use as casual, it increased during times of stress. You were using heroin and ice up to three to four times a week prior to the offending and at the time of the earlier offending.
“When your licence was disqualified, you could no longer continue working as a truck driver.
“I heard that you committed the offending at the service station out of desperation, with your financial difficulties compounding and your drug dependency worsening.”
The judge noted that Kumar had no family support except for a new partner of four years, who is also on a temporary visa.
“Having regard to the inevitable period of custody that will be imposed by me for this offending, you are at risk of being deported to India. I acknowledge that any period of imprisonment imposed may be more onerous on you than others, given the prospect you face of having your visa cancelled,” she told the court.
“I also acknowledge the ramifications this may have upon your new partner, who holds a temporary visa and had been hoping to successfully apply for a spousal visa.”
The judge also took into account a letter of apology from Kumar, his ongoing treatment for drug addiction, and a character reference from the managing director of Kumar’s former employer, who said he was “considered to be a hard-working and reliable employee”.
Kumar’s former employer, which did not employ Kumar at any time when he when he was disqualified from driving or failed any mandatory drug testing, said the managing director was not aware of the criminal proceedings at the time he provided the character reference, nor was he aware of the offending.
Kumar’s defence lawyers requested a “merciful non-parole period” and a “sentence that was not crushing”, and Judge Schammer said that while the general standard for armed robberies was in the range of six to eight years’ imprisonment, it was “appropriate to deviate” from precedent due to Kumar’s personal circumstances.
“I am mindful of the positive steps you have taken towards rehabilitation. I also accept that the commission of the armed robbery offence was out of character as you do not otherwise have a history of violence,” she said.
“You are still relatively young and in the past, when not using drugs, have shown that you are able to work hard and be a positive member of the community.”
Header image: The scene of the robbery (7News).
