Court hears new details in multi-state drug trafficking ring as accused man Ezeddinn Minaoui seeks bail
Police tracked a van carrying cannabis from Adelaide to NSW before seizing more than 30kg of weed and busting open a multi-state drug ring, a court has heard.
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More than 30kg of cannabis and edibles was found after police tracked a van from Adelaide across the border into NSW, busting open a multi-state drug ring, a court has heard.
New details about the drug-trafficking operation were revealed during court hearings over the past few weeks as two of the 10 co-accused South Australians applied for bail - including that one used the nick name ‘Willy Wonka’.
Ezeddinn Minaoui, 40, applied for bail on February 20 but prosecutors opposed it, telling the court the Craigmore man was under electronically monitored bail while he was allegedly part of the drug trafficking ring.
He is charged with money laundering and commercial drug trafficking.
The court heard Mr Minaoui was tracked to a meeting with other alleged participants in the drug ring, alerted moments before his arrival with a message to an encrypted text chat from “Willy Wonka”.
Mr Minaoui’s arrest was part of Operation Stonewall, which targets the distribution of large amounts of cannabis and other drugs between Adelaide, NSW and Victoria.
The court heard police located a van allegedly being used for drug running between Adelaide and Sydney.
Police surveilled the van in Adelaide and observed it being loaded with boxes.
The van was then tracked across the border into NSW, where a property was raided and 31kg of cannabis and 615g of edibles found in the house and van.
Chief Magistrate Judge Mary-Louise Hribal found Mr Minaoui posed too high a risk of reoffending on bail and absconding, despite his wife offering $15,000 as a cash surety.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Matthew Peter Ryan, 49, appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court seeking the court’s permission to enter the homes of prospective work clients.
He is charged with 11 counts of drug trafficking and money laundering.
Stephen Ey, for the Sellicks Hill man said while complying with his home detention bail, different Corrections officers allowed him to attend homes to provide quotes for window tinting – but some officers wouldn’t let him inside.
Magistrate Lynette Duncan approved permission.
Both men were charged alongside Scott Roy Fahy, 49 of Modbury North, Duane Barry Wade, 57 of Whyalla Sturt, Jade Elizabeth Currie, 38 of Kilburn, James Charles Bray, 75 of Welland, Frank Migliarese, 46 of Gilles Plains, Roberto Luigi Rillotta, 45 of Beaumont, and Andrew David Lee, 45 of Craigmore, with one other name not yet known.
Each participant was arrested between December 2023 and April 2024.
All are charged with a minimum of one count of trafficking in a commercial quantity of a controlled substance while Mr Bray, Mr Migliarese and Mr Fahy are also facing money laundering charges.
The group return to court in April.
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