A high-ranking Rebels bikie has been granted bail after a drug bust at his Braddon unit, where police allegedly found a large amount of cash, suspected cocaine and a set of knuckledusters.
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Detectives from ACT Policing's anti-gangs unit, Taskforce Nemesis, arrested Canberra Rebels vice-president John Donald George Wright as he sat in a car on Mort Street on Thursday night.
They took him to his nearby home and executed a search warrant, during which they claim to have found about 60 grams of a white powder that is believed to be cocaine.
Some of this was said to have been inside a sock that was sitting on a table, while there was allegedly also some under the kitchen sink.
Court documents show police also claim to have found $150 in the washing machine, and a bundle of about $15,000 in cash.
There was also a set of knuckledusters in a fruit bowl on the dining room table, according to police.
A white Holden Commodore utility and a silver Renault work van were additionally seized as suspected proceeds of crime.
Police claim Mr Wright, also known as John Winchester, refused demands to provide the access codes for two mobile phones.
Mr Wright applied for bail in the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday, when defence lawyer Charlene Chalker-Harris said there were many "compelling" reasons to release him.
Ms Chalker-Harris said the 46-year-old father of four had long owned a tiling business and had recently been working in the area of greyhound handling.
She said the man had a limited criminal history and strong ties to both the ACT and Queanbeyan, as police had conceded in a bail consideration form.
The lawyer claimed the case against her client was "not strong" in relation to the drug trafficking and weapon charges because the relevant items might belong to people who were regularly "coming and going" from the unit.
She said the police opposition to bail was largely based on concerns Mr Wright might interfere with witnesses in another court matter relating to some of his fellow Rebels bikies.
Ms Chalker-Harris said these concerns were merely speculative, and she had been instructed her client did not have "a vested interest" in that case because it related to something that had happened before those involved were Rebels.
Prosecutor Sam Bargwanna opposed bail, arguing Mr Wright was likely to commit offences and "contaminate" evidence.
He cited the 46-year-old's alleged refusal to assist police to unlock the phones.
"The only sensible reason he would've refused is that there's evidence on there that he doesn't want the police to see," Mr Bargwanna said.
The prosecutor argued there was "no way" Mr Wright could be trusted on bail because he might access the devices via "the Cloud" in order to alter or destroy evidence.
Mr Bargwanna said a bail condition banning Mr Wright from using any device capable of accessing the internet would be "impossible to enforce".
He also referenced the man's membership of the outlaw motorcycle gang, saying such organisations existed for criminal purposes.
Magistrate James Lawton ultimately agreed with Ms Chalker-Harris that the concerns about Mr Wright were speculative, saying there was nothing to suggest the 46-year-old would fail to comply with bail conditions.
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Mr Lawton said he did not accept there was definitely something incriminating on the phones, or that material on them could necessarily be tampered with from remote locations while police had possession of them.
He said another order compelling Mr Wright to provide the phone passcodes would probably be made soon, and the bikie would be committing an offence if he did not comply with it.
The magistrate granted bail on conditions that included a requirement for Mr Wright to report to police daily, and a ban on him accessing the internet.
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