TWO brothers who were caught up manufacturing drugs in a backyard meth lab have been released from prison.
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Liam Jemerson and Rhys Jemerson Hoynes are out of custody and living in Inverell where they will be supervised by authorities as they serve out an intensive corrections order (ICO), or jail term in the community.
The brothers fled to Queensland after police discovered the clandestine labs in 2018 in Inverell and Tingha, but were captured and extradited back to NSW in October last year.
The Inverell-raised pair spent a year in custody in NSW before they were sentenced in Armidale District Court last week by Judge Warwick Hunt.
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The pair, who admitted to the charges in the local court in August, were given a 25 per cent discount for their early guilty pleas.
For the offence of taking part in the manufacture of more than an indictable quantity of drugs, Judge Hunt imposed an ICO for 14 months.
Charges of possessing a precursor intended to be used in the manufacture of drugs; and possessing drug manufacturing apparatus to make prohibited drugs were taken into account in sentencing.
As part of the order, the brothers must stay out of trouble and not commit any offences; must be supervised by a Community Corrections' officer in Inverell; and undergo any programs or treatment directed by authorities.
Charges of manufacturing prohibited drugs against the brothers were withdrawn by prosecutors in the local court.
The pair were wanted by New England detectives after raids on properties in Inverell and Tingha in 2018 unearthed two large-scale clandestine drug labs.
They were on the run when they were spotted in Queensland in late June 2018 and arrested in a police operation, before being jailed for Queensland offences.
Strike Force Clune - the secret police operation by New England detectives and the state's drugs and firearm squad - unearthed the large-scale meth labs in Mitchell Crescent in Inverell and Winterwood Road in Tingha.
Police claimed the labs, which were discovered in April 2018, were used to manufacture the drug ice and MDMA.
More than 400 items, including drug precursors, glassware and documents, have been seized by police as part of the large-scale drug investigation.
The police operation took several days to dismantle the clan labs, with Fire and Rescue NSW crews called to back up forensic police, the chemical operations unit and local police.