Two Operation Ironside-accused refused bail over their involvement in separate kill plots in 2021

Two men accused of being involved in the planning of separate bikie gangland hits have been refused bail – with selfies helping sink one application.

Two men accused of being involved in the planning of separate gangland hits have been refused bail – with incriminating selfies sent over the AN0M app helping sink one application.

The first man, whose name is suppressed, is alleged to be a senior office holder of the Comanchero and dealt largely with gang’s cash.

When he was arrested police froze assets held in the name of multiple companies linked to the man.

While clever with money and businesses, the man was not subtle when it came to his use of the AN0M app, which was secretly being monitored by police.

Last week, Supreme Court Justice Anne Bampton heard a bail application for the man who has now been in custody for almost two and a half years.

Gilbert Aiken, for the man, told the court that with court delays and a pending court challenge to the legality of the AN0M app his client was unlikely to go to trial before 2025.

A prosecutor told the court that case against the man was strong.

The alleged senior Comanchero member has been refused bail on a charge of conspiracy to murder. .

“The defendant is alleged to be a member of the core group of co-accused involved in the planning of the murder and his role was to source a semiautomatic rifle,” she said.

The man is accused of being involved in the planning of the murder of a rival drug dealer who was thought to be undercutting the efforts of the larger Comanchero group.

Prosecutors allege there were several iterations of the plan to kill the man, however the most well-planned was a drive-by shooting following a meeting on The Parade in Norwood.

The group discussed removing the man’s brains from his skull and saying he needed to “get got”.

The court also heard the man was allegedly involved in the drug trade of the Comanchero.

“The prosecution case in those charges is said to be strong,” the prosecutor said.

“There were selfie images of this accused sent over the AN0M app as well as photos of his home and workplace.”

Justice Bampton refused the man bail, citing the serious nature of the charges and the strength of the prosecution case.

In the second alleged Operation Ironside gangland hit, another man, who is separately charged with conspiracy to murder and participating in a criminal organisation, also lost a bid to be released on bail.

The man, whose identity is also suppressed, was under police surveillance as he allegedly planted a loaded firearm under a bush near a Rosslyn Park house where the group wrongly believed the intended target still resided.

A second man is charged over an alleged kill plot allegedly orchestrated by members of the Comanchero via the encrypted AN0M application. The man who was refused bail is not alleged to have had an AN0M device. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

A prosecutor told the court there were three alleged attempts to kill the target – alleged to be a Comanchero who owed a drug debt to a senior member of the gang – over a week in May 2021. Prosecutors allege this man was involved only in the second attempt as the proposed “shooter”.

Sam McDonough, for the man, said his client did not have an ANOM device and said there was “no evidence he knew any of the content” of the alleged ANOM messages discussing the alleged kill plot.

He said the suggestion his client was to be the “shooter” in the plan was “speculation”.

He said his client’s mother “had a significant deterioration in her health” and asked he be released from custody to care for her.

Prosecutors, however, told the court the accused man was allegedly “prepared” to act as a “gunman” in the plot and “was aware of the conspiracy to kill”.

The court heard the attempt was thwarted, then police arrested the man moments after he allegedly secreted the gun under the bush.

Justice Bampton refused bail due to the seriousness of the allegations.