Raffaele Daniel Marrone and his wife Tania Louise Marrone face court charged with drug trafficking
A husband and wife charged with trafficking drugs have faced court – but at least part of the alleged “meth bust” was not what police initially thought.
North & North East
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An alleged husband-and-wife drug trafficking team have been charged by police – but a large quantity of “meth” allegedly found at their home was just an ingredient to make slime for a child’s school experiment, a court has heard.
Tania Louise Marrone, 46, and Raffaele Daniel Marrone, 42, appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday charged with drug trafficking.
The court heard Raffaele was believed to be part of a criminal association.
A police prosecutor told the court police allege Raffaele was “deeply involved” in trafficking drugs following an investigation from October, last year, until August.
“Various SMS text messages and phone conversations have been intercepted in relation to drugs,” the police prosecutor said.
The court heard police searched the Marrone’s Penfield Gardens home on June 4 and allegedly found 7.3g of methamphetamine in the bedhead of the bedroom that the couple share, as well as a hard drive.
“This hard drive shows six weeks of footage from eight cameras – showing numerous drug schemes that the defendant is conducting from his house,” the police prosecutor said.
The court heard police allegedly found “suspected methamphetamine” hidden in palm trees in the garden, as well as $11,000 in cash.
“There was some material suspected of being an illegal substance in one of the children’s bedrooms but this has been found out to be dimethyl sulfide and it’s defence’s submission that it’s for slime to be used in a school experiment,” the police prosecutor said.
Tania has been charged with drug trafficking and Raffaele was charged with commercial drug trafficking and money laundering.
The pair are yet to enter any pleas.
The police prosecutor said Raffaele’s commercial drug trafficking charge was likely to be downgraded but the other evidence was strong, with further charges likely to be laid after all the CCTV footage has been reviewed.
Raffaele’s lawyer said Raffaele should be released on bail considering what police alleged to be in excess of 100g of methamphetamine turned out to be an ingredient to make slime.
“Prosecution now acknowledges that it was truly slime – that it was an experiment for the kids and had nothing to do with methamphetamine at all,” the lawyer said.
“That is an enormous game changer in terms of the gravity of the alleged offending and the seriousness of the charges.”
Raffaele’s lawyer said the Marrones own a beauty salon and have seven children, with five still living at home.
“The co-accused, Tania, needs support from her husband on a day-to-day basis, particularly in relation to chores and looking after the children,” the lawyer said.
“Her mental health is dire and one of the main things that has caused a significant increase in anxiety and depression is the incarceration of her partner.”
Magistrate Jayanthi McGrath ordered a home detention report.
The bail application was adjourned until Friday.
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