Morphett Vale drug lab accused among Ironside accused to plead not guilty
Men accused of running of enormous meth labs, conspiring to murder, running kilos of heroin and shooting a gang affiliate have all pleaded not guilty.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A tidal wave of major criminal trials will hit the District Court next year as multiple Ironside accused plead not guilty to offences ranging from conspiracy to murder, running a suburban super lab and shooting a rival gang affiliate through the leg.
Among the most significant not guilty pleas was the mass court appearance of nine men accused of running and maintaining a major drug lab in Morphett Vale.
The property on Cocks Ave was raided by police on August 18, 2020.
Officers found multiple kilos of precursor chemicals and cutting agents as well as 5kg of meth oil and 238g of methamphetamine.
The lab was linked in separate AN0M messages to the production of “wet” methamphetamine, crystals similar to meth which are covered in methamphetamine oil.
The variant became more frequently sold during the Covid-19 pandemic when international trade routes shut down the traditional importation sources of the drug.
Prosecutors have previously said that the prosecution of nine men for running the lab is among the most complicated of the Ironside cases and involves tens of thousands of intercepted messages linking various phones to the lab.
Nameth Khan, 41 and Blake Culbertson, 24, pleaded not guilty to their involvement.
Six other men, whose names are suppressed, either pleaded not guilty on Friday or are already committed to stand trial in the District Court.
Another man formally pleaded not guilty to charges of supplying a firearm which was then allegedly used in a conspiracy to kill a man in Rosslyn Park.
He has not been charged with conspiracy to murder, only supplying the firearm.
He also pleaded not guilty to the shooting of a gang affiliate in September 2019 at Hindmarsh.
In a separate case, several men pleaded not guilty to charges of trafficking kilograms of heroin which were delivered from interstate.
The flood of not guilty pleas sets the stage for a logistic nightmare in the District Court with many of these matters due for arraignment early next year.
Meanwhile, the nation-leading Ironside test case continues in the Supreme Court with the state’s most senior barristers and legal minds lining up to either defend or seek to undermine the way the AFP ran the nation spanning operation.
Kidnapper’s downfall into life of crime revealed
A violent kidnapper has had further jail time added for drug charges after his life spiralled out of control.
Major highway closed due to Hazmat incident near WA border
Residents near the SA border with WA have been advised to keep inside with the windows shut as a major highway was closed following a hazmat incident.