Nomad bikies Dion Madden, Beau Cochrane, Adam Fennell and Brayden Hunter pleaded guilty to drug charges
A personal trainer and a businessman were among those seduced into the criminal lifestyle for drugs, cars and money. Here’s how their empire collapsed.
Local
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A covert operation uncovering a drug enterprise was the downfall of the Nomad motorcycle club, with texts revealing members once boasted about their club being the richest.
Nomad chapter presidents Dion Jay Madden and Beau James Cochrane and fellow members Adam Robert Fennell and Brayden Mark Hunter were living the high life after being seduced into a life of crime.
But they quickly learnt crime doesn’t pay – with one behind bars and three awaiting their fate after admitting to their roles in the sophisticated operation.
At the time of the men’s arrest, a warning was issued that young men contemplating joining bikie gangs would likely find criminal activity and get a lot of attention from law enforcement.
With the once thriving Nomad motorcycle club now ceasing to exist, the court has heard why the men got involved in serious criminal activity and how they came undone.
How the drug enterprise was exposed
The Nomads were put under the spotlight during Operation Leo, an investigation that began in December, 2020.
Hunter, 28, was the first arrested after police searched his Bolivar cabin on December 11, 2020 and found methamphetamine in resealable bags.
One bag contained 83.6g of crystals, with 78 per cent purity, another bag contained 5.27g, with 61 per cent purity and the third contained 6.75g, with 61 per cent purity.
The court heard the methamphetamine was valued between $18,000 and $45,000, depending on how it was sold.
During sentencing in August, Judge Liesl Kudelka said a significant amount of money was passing through Hunter’s hands.
“You knew the profits were going back to the club in circumstances where the person with whom you were communicating was bragging about the club being the richest,” she said.
The police sting
Thousands of dollars worth of heroin and meth were taken off the streets, as well as 11 firearms, five vehicles, four Harley Davidson motorcycles and a jetski after seven properties were searched in Adelaide’s north and east on April 23, 2021.
15,000 telephone recordings were intercepted from a shed at a Magill address after police set up a covert camera and listening device.
Police found 720g of “very high purity” methamphetamine, valued between $112,000 and $130,000 if sold in ounces.
They also found 702g of heroin – valued between $150,000 and $175,000 if sold in ounces – and 83.5g of methamphetamine and $9600 secreted in a car used by Cochrane.
Cochrane, of Highbury, and Madden, of Glynde, pleaded guilty to trafficking commercial amounts of heroin and methamphetamine, as well as laundering $27,200, for the benefit of a criminal organisation.
Cochrane also pleaded guilty to possessing 11 firearms without a licence, including two pistols, six rifles and three shotguns for the benefit of a criminal organisation.
Fennell – who was previously an F45 trainer at the Glenelg studio – was initially facing trial for his role in the operation but pleaded guilty to two counts of commercial drug trafficking and money laundering.
Hunter pleaded guilty to drug trafficking for the benefit of a criminal organisation.
He was initially handed a suspended sentence after Judge Kudelka praised him for his rehabilitation efforts.
However, on appeal, Hunter was sentenced to four years and 10 months jail, with a non-parole period of two years and seven months.
How the men entangled themselves in a criminal lifestyle
Karen Ingleton, for the prosecution, told the District Court earlier this month Cochrane, 32, and Madden, 42, were presidents of different chapters in South Australia.
“It was a conscious decision on his (Madden’s) part to be seduced into that lifestyle because the people involved in that club had cars and money,” she said.
Ms Ingleton said Madden purchased a number of vehicles, including $36,322 for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle in May 2020, $103,000 for a Mercedes Benz station wagon in October 2020 and another motorcycle in 2021.
Marie Shaw KC, for Madden, told the court her client opened a sports store in 2013 but was forced to close the business in 2016, leading to him and his wife losing their home.
“The shame and embarrassment as a result of the loss of the family home and his business did lead him to … become addicted to amphetamines,” she said.
Ms Shaw said Madden then started using cocaine, which is when he came into contact with the Nomads, before being asked to be president in early 2021.
“Mr Cochrane is saying that he has a f***ing solid group of guys coming on as their own chapter so we are going to be big,” Ms Shaw said.
The court heard Hunter was addicted to drugs and used the profit from selling drugs to fund his habit.
However, his arrest was a “wake up call” and he cut ties with the motorcycle gang.
Before being jailed, Hunter was living with his grandfather as his full-time carer and hadn’t used drugs since his arrest.
David Edwardson KC, for Cochrane, told the court his client had been involved with a number of bikie gangs – including the New Boys, Rock Machine and Nomads.
“His life in crime, almost without question, is a direct relationship between him and his association with different organised crime groups,” he said.
Mr Edwardson told the court he had since severed ties with any groups and put that life behind him.
The downfall of Nomad motorcycle club
The court heard the Nomads ceased to exist in South Australia after the men were arrested.
At the time of the men’s arrest, Head of the state’s Serious and Organised Crime Branch, Detective Superintendent Stephen Taylor said the bikie gangs police are seeing now “are nothing like the gangs we used to see”.
“Now, it’s all organised crime, it’s about money, wealth, power, by whatever means available,” he said.
“Young men contemplating joining bikie gangs, looking for camaraderie and a brotherhood, I don’t think you’re going to find that.
“I think what you’re going to find is … criminal activity.
“You might spend time in and out of jail – you’ll most certainly get a lot of attention from police and the high levels of law enforcement.”
Det Supt Taylor said members are not allowed to leave gangs, and more often than not, members are beaten if they do leave, and stripped of their assets.
“That to me is not a brotherhood, that’s not what mates do to each other,” he said
Judge Liesl Kudelka will sentence Madden and Cochrane next month, while Fennell, 49, will face sentencing submissions in July.
More Coverage
‘I tried 15 mins of hypnotherapy a day for IBS and it’s life-changing’
Joanna could only book afternoon flights because she spent her mornings on the toilet with crippling IBS – now her life isn’t dictated by her chronic condition.
Suspicious fire at business in Adelaide’s east
Police have launched an investigation into a suspicious fire at an eastern suburbs business. It comes as a Flinders Park business was targeted in arson attacks two days in a row.