Rock Machine bikie Jacob Schettini sentenced for trafficking $64k of meth to Whyalla

A bikie desperate to quit the Rock Machine agreed to courier meth as his final duty only after members allegedly firebombed his house when he said no the first time.

A man desperate to leave a bikie gang after they allegedly firebombed his house agreed to courier drugs as his final duty, a court has been told.

Jacob Ben William Schettini, 24, played a “significant role” in the trafficking $64,000 of methamphetamine to a country town.

Last month, the Adelaide District Court heard police stopped Schettini while he was driving in Whyalla Stuart on July 31, 2020.

“Their intelligence suggested that you had affiliations with Rock Machine, an outlaw motorcycle gang, and may have been in possession of multiple firearms,” Judge Timothy Heffernan said during sentencing.

Police found two re-sealable bags of methamphetamine in the boot of his car.

One bag contained 139g of methamphetamine, of which 66.8g was pure and the other contained 83.4g of methamphetamine, with 41.4g of it being pure.

“The value of the drugs was considerable, the combined total weight being worth, at a conservative estimate, about $64,000,” Judge Heffernan said.

“That represents a large amount of street deals.”

Schettini, of Parafield Gardens, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking.

The court heard Schettini became a member of the gang through his father when they were setting up a chapter in Whyalla.

“You would act as a driver for them, taking members to and from Adelaide,” Judge Heffernan said.

“You sometimes suspected that those members may have had drugs in their possession but you were not told about anything like that.”

The Rock Machine bikie gang emerged in Adelaide over six years ago.

The gang’s president, Alexander Michael Ilich, was jailed for over a decade after pleading guilty to drug and weapon offences in the Adelaide District Court in 2020.

Alexander Ilich, centre, the leader of bikie gang Rock Machine. Picture: Facebook

Police found a Glock self-loading handgun at his Athol Park home as well as more than a kilo of methamphetamine, with an estimated street value of $699,000, ammunition and $21,000 in cash.

The court heard Schettini decided he wanted to leave the gang but was told he had a number of duties to complete before that could happen.

“One of those duties involved delivering drugs to Whyalla. You refused to co-operate and you say that as a result your house was firebombed,” Judge Heffernan said.

The alleged attack was reported to police.

Schettini then agreed to deliver methamphetamine from Adelaide to Whyalla, which is the offence for which he was intercepted.

The court heard Schettini, who had since severed ties with the club, had started working for a labour hire company.

Judge Heffernan said the social harm caused by methamphetamine was well known.

“You played a significant role in assisting the operation of what appears to have been an organised and lucrative scheme for the distribution of drugs,” Judge Heffernan said.

“Such a scheme depends on persons like yourself … acting in the role of courier in order to transport large amounts of drugs for their ultimate distribution to the dealers.”

Judge Heffernan sentenced Schettini to three years and seven months in jail, with a non-parole period of two years.

He ordered the sentence be served on home detention.

“Do not waste this opportunity,” Judge Heffernan said.