A Canberra drug-dealing kingpin was in serious debt to his Sydney suppliers when he called on a childhood friend to standover a colleague for money, prosecutors told a jury Monday.
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The Crown alleges Javarne Saipani, 25, agreed to the request, and went to the alleged victim's home with a sawn-off shotgun and threatened to blow the man's legs off if he did not produce the cash.
Mr Saipaini denies the allegations and has pleaded not guilty to a charge of making a demand with a threat to cause grievous bodily harm.
Prosecutor Mark Fernandez told the ACT Supreme Court in his opening address on Monday that, "In a nutshell, he was asked and agreed to help a mate collect a drug debt."
Mr Fernandez told the jury that Mr Saipani's childhood friend and the alleged victim were both senior members of a Canberra drug ring dealing in cannabis, methylamphetamine, ecstasy and cocaine.
They would arrange for the drugs to come into Canberra and distribute it to others down the chain.
Mr Saipaini's friend was at the top of the pyramid, Mr Fernandez said.
The Canberra kingpin would organise, through another Canberra contact, the drugs from Sydney.
He had drivers pick up the drugs from Sydney for $500 per journey, the court heard.
There were, Mr Fernandez said, substantial amounts of drugs and money involved.
The alleged victim, the prosecutor told the court, had started his drug dealing career selling a 1/2 pound of cannabis per week before it escalated to more than 30 pounds per week.
The drugs were often sold on "tick", which meant the dealers would receive the drugs and pay for them later.
Around November 2016, the Canberra kingpin told the alleged victim that he was in significant debt to his Sydney contacts. The man, who the court heard was a frequent gambler, told the alleged victim he was being pressured to come up with substantial amounts of money.
There had been raids on some of the lower level dealers' homes, Mr Fernandez said, resulting in drugs and money being seized by police.
The kingpin turned to his old school friend Mr Saipani for help.
Mr Fernandez said the man asked Mr Saipani to standover the colleague for money, and Mr Saipani agreed.
The alleged victim said Mr Saipaini and the kingpin became increasing hostile towards him. The alleged victim was blamed for the kingpin's debts.
He was pressuring the alleged victim to collect money, and the pressure increased when he was unable to collect fast enough. The kingpin told the alleged victim that he had inherited his debts, because he had not been able to pay them off fast enough.
In May 2017, Mr Saipani is accused of going to the alleged victim's home and saying that if his demands weren't met he would shoot him, the court heard.
He produced a double-barrelled sawn-off shotgun and said he would use it take off the alleged victim's legs.
He returned to the house another time and punched and kicked the alleged victim and again demanded money.
The alleged victim fled Canberra in fear, the court heard.
Prosecutors say Mr Saipani then lied to police when he told them he had never communicated with the alleged victim, and when he said he did not know the senior drug dealer.
The trial continues.
