Port Lincoln man and alleged drug trafficker William Andrew Scheiffarth, arrested under AN0M raids, granted home detention bail

The 56th person arrested in SA’s AN0M drug investigations has been released on strict home detention bail to live in a coastal town.

The 56th person arrested and charged after the third wave of AN0M arrests across the state has been released on bail.

William Andrew Scheiffarth, 39, appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday and was granted bail to return to his Port Lincoln home on the next available flight out of Adelaide.

Mr Scheiffarth, of Port Lincoln, is yet to enter any pleas to three counts of traffic in a large commercial quantity controlled drug, seven counts of traffic in a controlled drug and two counts of traffic in a commercial quantity controlled drug.

He appeared in court for the first time last Friday after he was arrested the previous day at Adelaide Airport.

Court documents allege that, between December 2020 and April 2021, Mr Scheiffarth trafficked a number of different drugs throughout North Haven, Brighton, Flagstaff Hill, Seaton, Happy Valley, Noarlunga, Lonsdale and Sheidow Park.

The documents allege those drugs included GHB, cocaine and MDMA.

Mr Scheiffarth became the 56th South Australian to be arrested since Operation Ironside 3.0’s October 29 raids – joining a list of former SANFL stars, business owners and junior sport coaches each caught up in the latest bust.

The majority of those arrests have already appeared in court – and have since returned to the community on strict home detention bail conditions.

It’s alleged two separate AN0M drug syndicates were running huge amounts of cannabis, cocaine and other drugs through Adelaide and interstate while earning millions of dollars, courts have heard.

The alleged scale of the drug syndicates has been explained by prosecutors, who told a court the exact roles allegedly undertaken by “general managers” and “couriers” within the operation.

One alleged criminal, prosecutors claimed, was at the “apex” of the illegal drug trade – while a business owner, they submitted, was simply “doing the dirty work”.

Of the 56 total arrests, at least half a dozen were charged following allegations they were involved in criminal syndicates.

Those syndicates, the court heard, involve the alleged trafficking of – collectively – tens-of-millions of dollars worth of cannabis, cocaine and MDMA.

Last Thursday, Mr Scheiffarth was taken into police custody about 6.45pm after Operation Ironside detectives arrested him moments after he landed at Adelaide Airport.

SA Police alleged that, following his arrest, those same detectives undertook searches of three premises in Port Lincoln seeking further evidence with the support of local police.

During the bail hearing on Friday, Magistrate Patrick Hill released Mr Scheiffarth on strict home detention bail.

He is due to return to court in February next year.