A man accused of leaving a loaded gun under the seat of a BMW he dropped off for a service is allegedly linked to bikies, a court has heard.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Police claim the man was found with about $200,000 worth of methamphetamine and had photographs of himself with the drugs and a large amount of cash.
Jason Pakalani Tuiono, 33, was denied bail in the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
The man, from Campsie, NSW, has pleaded not guilty to unauthorised possession of a prohibited firearm, possessing ammunition, and trafficking a controlled substance.
He also faces two new charges of possessing ammunition and trafficking a controlled substance. He has not yet pleaded to these charges.
Police documents state Tuiono dropped off his BMW to an auto shop in Belconnen for a service last week.
After Tuiono left the shop, an employee reached under the driver's seat to move it forward so he could reach the pedals properly.
Police claim the employee felt what he thought was a lever come loose in his hand. When the man looked down he saw he had hold of the metal barrel of a gun.
Officers were called to the scene where they allegedly found a loaded 3D-printed firearm with a light-coloured plastic handle.
Police claim upon Tuiono's arrest, they also found about 250 grams of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $200,000, over $2500 in cash, and ammunition.
After searching the BMW, police also allegedly discovered digital scales, a teaspoon, latex disposable gloves, rubber bands, clip seal bags, and a bottle of "health shampoo" believed to contain a GHB substitute.
The documents state photographs were found in Tuiono's phone of him holding bags of meth, weighing the drugs on scales and posing with large bundles of money.
In court, a prosecutor called Senior Constable Jarrad Drennan to give evidence.
Senior Constable Drennan, the officer in charge of the case, told the court Tuiono was known to associate with an outlaw motorcycle gang.
The officer said the defendant had been on parole at the time of his latest arrest after committing an armed robbery in NSW.
The senior constable told the court a firearm investigations team had found the 3D-printed gun had all the mechanisms required to function, however, they had not physically fired it yet.
Peter Woodhouse, from the Aulich law firm, applied for bail for his client.
He said Tuiono was able to reside in the ACT with his cousin and work as a roofer if granted bail.
Mr Woodhouse said the defendant was a concreter and had worked in construction industry for a number of years.
He argued keeping Tuiono in jail due to the risk of him committing offences was "tantamount to preventative detention".
READ ALSO:
A prosecutor argued the large of amount of illicit drugs meant the alleged offending was not desperate but "clearly planned".
She said $200,000 worth of methamphetamine was "not an amount one would come into easily".
Magistrate Louise Taylor denied Tuiono bail. He is set to reappear in court on April 20.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram