Paea Langiofu Talakai, 30, was locked up at Canberra's jail in July 2018 after his shirtless figure was captured on CCTV taking part in a wild melee with fellow Comanchero gangsters at a Fyshwick strip club.

Nearly halfway through his five-month stint behind bars, he attracted the attention of Alexander Maconochie Centre staff by pacing around frantically for up to half an hour during a visitation period.

The reason for Talakai's suspicious behaviour became apparent when guards subsequently strip-searched him and spotted an object between his buttocks.

He became aggressive and tried to push it further in when he was asked to remove it, meaning guards had to restrain him and retrieve it themselves.

Authorities eventually discovered that the white object contained smaller packages, which held methamphetamine, cannabis and buprenorphine.

Talakai was charged as a result with three counts of possessing a prohibited thing while a detainee.

Following a long series of delays, he appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty on Monday afternoon.

Talakai's lawyer, Peter Woodhouse, said the man had travelled to court from his home in Queensland on a one-way ticket, knowing these offences may result in another custodial sentence.

But Mr Woodhouse asked magistrate James Stewart not to "interfere with [the] positive trajectory" Talakai had been on since getting out of jail.

He said the 30-year-old had not committed any drug-related offences since these ones more than three years ago, while there had been no offending whatsoever for about 18 months.

"As your honour knows, the road to Damascus is a long one and he is now starting to get the runs on the board," Mr Woodhouse told Mr Stewart.

He indicated Talakai was working as a landscaper, attending church and mentoring youngsters at a rugby league club in his home state.

Mr Stewart said these things sat "strangely" alongside the fact Talakai was, according to a court duty report, still a patched member of the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang.

This prompted Mr Woodhouse to concede that was indeed the case, though he said Talakai's role within that group was now "limited".

Prosecutor Lauren Knobel argued, however, that the 30-year-old's continued membership of a gang was "clearly adverse to his prospects for rehabilitation".

She also said drugs in a custodial environment posed a risk to other prisoners, and "a strong message should be sent that this is not acceptable".

Mr Stewart ultimately found a jail sentence was necessary in the circumstances, imposing one of 48 days.

But the magistrate suspended it immediately, saying he thought sending Talakai straight back behind bars would be "crushing".

"Other than his membership of the [bikie] club, he seems to be doing everything the community wants him to do," Mr Stewart said.

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He described the facts of the case as being "embarrassing for [Talakai]", as well as "highly unpleasant" for the guards who had to retrieve the hidden item.

"What [Talakai] did was unwise, and dangerous to himself and others," Mr Stewart said.

The magistrate urged Talakai to make the most of the opportunity to avoid further time in custody.

Fellow Comanchero members waited in the court cafe for news of Talakai's fate, and he exchanged celebratory handshakes with them as he left.

The 30-year-old is expected to almost immediately return to Queensland, where the court heard he would be required to spend time in quarantine.

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