Vincent John Circosta allegedly packaged $2.74m under instruction from a senior bikie via encrypted AN0M app, court hears

A man charged as part of the Operation Ironside police sting allegedly packaged and marked $2.74m in cash to be sent interstate, a court has heard.

A man allegedly vacuum packed $2.7m in cash under orders of a senior bikie via the encrypted AN0M app, a court has heard.

Prosecutors allege Vincent John Circosta, 31, put the cash in $50,000 quantities under instructions from alleged senior Comanchero bikie Cain Dalwood.

Circosta appeared in Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday seeking release on home detention bail.

A prosecutor told the court the money laundering offence was an “extraordinarily serious charge” which allegedly related to the tamper proof packaging of the cash in April last year.

The money was later seized in another man’s possession in NSW.

“(Dalwood) directed the person we say is Circosta to package this cash in a very particular way, in $50,000 amounts and to label those bags in a particular way, with a combination letters and numbers,” he said.

“This accused clearly … was using the platform, communicating with its most senior members in Cain Dalwood and Theodore Broikos, and is trusted to drop $2.74m off.”

The prosecutor said police also found 21 mobile phones at his home address during ­Operation Ironside raids on June 7, four of which police suspected were “encrypted devices” that used the AN0M platform.

He said it would be alleged the makes and models of the four phones matched the brand, make and model used on the platform.

He said it was expected investigators would be able to match the phone’s unique serial numbers to the messages Circosta allegedly sent.

The court heard Circosta ­allegedly had two usernames on the AN0M platform – “unknownscc” and “ice-cold”.

“It’s not just speculation at this stage, there is indeed some strong circumstantial evidence that this accused was using that service,” The prosecutor said.

Circosta is yet to enter pleas to charges of knowingly engage in money laundering, manufacturing and trafficking in a controlled drug.

The court heard he was co-accused with Dalwood, Theodore and Apostle Broikos over an “industrial scale” methylamphetamine laboratory at Morphett Vale.

David Edwardson QC, for Circosta, said removing any evidence of the use of the app, the charges against his client were “just stock standard” drug offending.

“One would expect to get bail in these circumstances, in particular when people who are charged with more serious offending have gotten bail before,” he said.

Magistrate John Wells refused the application for bail due to the seriousness of the allegations and the risk of interfering in the ongoing investigation.