Alleged bikie Vadim Victor Volkov sentenced to 9 years’ jail for ‘sophisticated’ drug trafficking

A raid of storage sheds across the Gold Coast has uncovered an alleged bikie’s massive drug trafficking business, locating hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash and drugs.

An alleged Hells Angels bikie stashed hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash and drugs across storage sheds and in a safety deposit box while conducting a ‘sophisticated’ business trafficking in methamphetamine, cocaine and steroids on the Gold Coast.

Father-of-two Vadim Volkov, 39, was sentenced to nine years’ jail in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to drug trafficking between August 2014 and August 2015.

Crown prosecutor David Finch said Volkov supplied both retail and wholesale amounts of drugs across the Gold Coast.

While executing search warrants, police found he had stashed large amounts of cash and small amounts of drugs in storage sheds in Robina and Surfer’s Paradise.

A cache of gold, drugs, paraphernalia and $163,000 of cash was found inside a wardrobe at his home.

Mr Finch said an additional “large amount of drugs” and $199,000 was found at a safety box in the Queensland Safety Deposit Centre in Brisbane.

Justice Glenn Martin said the drugs business “had a degree of sophistication” and Volkov took steps to avoid detection.

Vadim Volkov (left) with his father Victor looking at wreckage of their fishing boat at Southend near Beachport in 2002.

He said Volkov’s criminal history included grievous bodily harm, possessing dangerous drugs and “a large number of weapons offences related to these proceedings”.

Defence barrister Angus Edwards said Russian-born Volkov had been diagnosed with an array of mental health conditions including Autism, ADHD, generalised anxiety, recurrent major depressive disorder and panic disorder.

He said Volkov had began taking cocaine to deal with anxiety and depression which “snowballed” into drug dealing and trafficking.

He claimed Volkov had stopped criminal activities following his arrest in 2015 and wants to be a good father to his children, aged 3 and 6.

“He doesn‘t want to be in that criminal world, he wants to be a businessman, he wants to go and complete his Masters, to be a good father to his two daughters, and a good partner,” Mr Edwards said.

Volkov was sentenced to 9 years’ jail and will be eligible for parole after 50 per cent of his sentence is served.

He had already served 52 days in pre-sentence custody.

“I have formed the view that there are signs in you of a capacity to rehabilitate,” Justice Martin said.