AN0M sting accused barred from overseas travel for best friend’s wedding

An alleged drug producer caught in Australia's biggest police sting faces missing his best friend's wedding after judge rules he's too great a flight risk, despite the offer of a $100k surety.

Senad Catic. Picture: Tertius Pickard

An alleged drug producer caught up in an infamous joint sting by US and Australian police has been barred from travelling to the Balkans to conduct best man duties at a friend’s wedding despite offering another $100,000 in surety.

Senad Catic, 38, was charged as part of the Australia Federal Police’s notorious Operation Ironside.

The joint AFP and Federal Bureau of Investigation operation saw the encrypted app known as AN0M installed on mobile phones that were then disseminated among alleged criminal networks.

Unknown to those using the phones, AN0M had been built by law enforcement agencies and was under constant surveillance which led to hundreds of people being charged internationally.

Catic was charged in June 2021 with producing dangerous drugs (serious organised crime) and two counts of possessing anything for use in a drug crime.

His case is one of many in Australia currently in limbo while the High Court decides whether the messages sent on AN0M were intercepted legally by authorities.

On Thursday in Brisbane’s Supreme Court Catic applied for his bail conditions to be varied to allow him to travel overseas.

His barrister Penny White said her client wanted to travel to his native Bosnia and Herzegovina to be best man at his best friend’s wedding.

He would also travel to Turkey, China and South Korea to source parts for his Queensland concreting business, she said.

The Crown, which alleges that according to AN0M messages Catic was planning to produce 10kg of meth in 10 days with a co-accused, opposed the variation on the basis he posed a risk of not returning to Australia.

But Ms White said Catic had a large young family in Australia where he is a citizen and two significant businesses.

She said Bosnia and Australia had an extradition agreement but noted Catic had never failed to appear in court before.

Ms White said while the Crown claimed her client had been preparing to produce significant amounts of drugs the chemicals allegedly actually seized by police “weren’t in any order like that”.

“The ability to produce 10 kilos all relates to messages that another co-accused sent,” she said.

Ms White said Catic was offering to increase his $50,000 bail surety to $150,000.

The Crown said the risk of flight hadn’t diminished over the years since Catic was first charged.

“He clearly has, by his own affidavit, extensive family overseas,” the Crown prosecutor said.

“It’s accepted he’s an Australian citizen but given that he is from Bosnia Herzegovina he could repatriate there.”

Justice Tom Sullivan noted there were “porous borders in that part of Europe” and if convicted on the current charges Catic could face a “very long sentence”.

He was unconvinced that Catic’s business interests in sourcing parts from Asia required the defendant’s physical presence there.

Justice Sullivan dismissed the application saying it was “regrettable (Catic) can’t go to his best friend’s wedding … but I’m dealing with the risk”.