Former Bronco-turned bikie affiliate Myphala Ah Chong busted with stolen firearm, meth

A former Ipswich rugby league prospect’s fall from grace has been shared in court after he confessed to Bandidos bikie connections and stashing a stolen rifle in his boot.

Former Bronco-turned bikie affiliate Myphala Ah Chong, who was busted with stolen firearm and meth. Picture: Facebook

A court has heard how an Ipswich rugby league prodigy turned to drugs and “the wrong crowd” after suffering Covid-19-related career setbacks.

Springfield warehouse labourer Myphala Ah Chong, 21, pleaded guilty in Ipswich Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday to unlawful possession of a category H weapon (a .22 rifle), receiving tainted property (the same rifle), two counts of possessing dangerous drugs, two counts of possessing utensils or pipes, possessing property suspected of being acquired for the purpose of committing a drug offence (a phone), and authority required to possess explosives.

The court heard police had searched Ah Chong’s Springfield home on June 5, 2022, and uncovered 1.2g of meth, 1.35g of cannabis and drug utensils.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Nick Turnbull said the prosecution accepted Ah Chong had possessed those items for personal use.

Magistrate Jason Schubert noted what “really concerned” him was the receiving tainted property and possession of a weapon charge.

Those related to the same stolen .22 rifle that police had found in the boot of Ah Chong’s car on the property.

Mr Schubert said the weapon was “completely operable”, particularly as Ah Chong had also possessed the appropriate ammunition at the time – resulting in the authority required to possess explosives charge.

He further noted his concern with the weapon being found in Ah Chong’s car was “the inference is that it is for transport to somewhere else – in a public place”.

Mr Schubert said police also found concerning messages on Ah Chong’s phone, which referenced “recovering money from people who haven’t paid” and were “clearly in relation to the sale and recovery of money from drug matters”.

Sgt Turnbull emphasised that the messages were “not trivial” and were particularly concerning from the police’s perspective.

The court heard the phone also contained photos of Ah Chong with members of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club at their events and wearing their colours, along with photos of him holding bags of cash.

Mr Schubert said Ah Chong had admitted to police that he had become a probationary member of the Bandidos OMCG in 2021.

Defence lawyer Matthew Fairclough said his client had become mixed up in the “wrong crowd” and had since separated himself and “moved on with his life”.

He also said Ah Chong had struggled with drug issues “in a sense of cannabis” in the past.

Mr Fairclough said Ah Chong had initially intended to pursue a professional football career.

Ah Chong is a former squad member of the Brisbane Broncos and played in a pre-season match against Wynnum Manly in 2020.

He was also a member of the Queensland Emerging Origin under-20s and under-18s squads.

Mr Fairclough said his client gave up his rugby league dream during the Covid-19 pandemic and now worked as a warehouse labourer.

The court heard Ah Chong had a limited criminal history but had received six months probation in 2020 for wilful damage.

His traffic history included disqualified driving, contempt for orders of the court and a drug driving offence in May 2022.

Mr Schubert sentenced Ah Chong to 18 months probation for the possession of drugs, utensils, explosives and phone.

No convictions were recorded for those offences.

For the remaining offences, Ah Chong was sentenced to three months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and convictions were recorded.