Suspected former Apex gang member among growing number of released detainees charged with criminal offences

A man who was allegedly part of the notorious Apex street gang then freed from immigration detention following a High Court ruling has been accused of being involved in a terrifying attempted home invasion.

A suspected former member of the notorious Apex street gang freed from immigration detention following a landmark court ruling has been accused of committing further crimes.

The Herald Sun can reveal the hoodlum, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is among the growing number of released detainees who have been charged with criminal offences since the High Court set them free in November 2023.

He was facing deportation to Sudan after having his visa cancelled when sentenced to 16 months in youth detention for a violent carjacking in which he held a sawn-off shotgun to his victim’s head.

Now 27, and having been given a second chance at turning his life around in Australia, police allege he was involved in a terrifying attempted home invasion months after being given bail for allegedly handling stolen goods.

More than 200 detainees have been freed from immigration detention after a landmark High Court ruling in November 2023. Picture: AAP

He is accused of being among a group of men who surrounded a home in Melbourne’s southeast, climbing on the roof and smashing in the windows in a terrifying ordeal for the residents bunkered down inside.

It is alleged the offenders armed themselves with a hammer and angle grinder.

The shocking details emerged in the Supreme Court last week as the thug desperately applied to be released back on the streets pending his court case.

The court heard a man who lived at the address had been tasked with fixing a device that belonged to one of the co-accused.

When he failed to repair it, a meeting was arranged to hand it back.

But before that could happen, the offenders allegedly travelled to his home and demanded he hand it over.

When he refused to open the door, they allegedly let loose with weapons found in the garden, circling the home and smashing windows.

They never made it into the house, fleeing the scene when the victim returned the item, slipping it under the garage door.

The accused has been charged with attempted aggravated home invasion, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ jail.

He is also facing two counts of criminal damage, three counts of unlawful assault and a possession of cannabis charge.

News of his release from immigration detention back into the community – and his subsequent arrest – outraged the family of one of his past victims.

“I feel sick,” the mother, whose son went on to take his own life after he was the victim of the terrifying armed carjacking, told the Herald Sun.

“Because of him, I don’t have my son.

“He doesn’t deserve to be here.”

The man applied for bail in the Supreme Court. Picture: David Crosling

He was among hundreds of criminals who were cut loose on the nation’s streets after the High Court ruled a stateless Rohingya man, known only as NZYQ and convicted of child sex abuse, could not be indefinitely detained.

A year on from the ruling, which threw the immigration detention system into chaos, Home Affairs officials told a Senate estimates hearing in November at least 215 detainees had been released.

Of those, 65 had gone on to be charged with state and territory offences as of October 18 last year.

The alleged former Apex member’s defence barrister Merran Shanahan, when pushing for her client’s release on bail, claimed the prosecution’s case was weak.

She disputed whether there was “any actual attempt to enter” by any of the accused since they were calling the victim to “come outside” to hand over their property.

Ms Shanahan confirmed her client was on one set of police bail after he was charged with handling stolen goods in August following a random search, but she flagged issues with the legality of the search.

She said her client had used drugs, including ice, since he was a teenager as a “coping mechanism” for post-traumatic stress disorder after fleeing war-torn Sudan as a boy when his father was killed.

Ultimately, Supreme Court judge Kerri Judd refused bail, saying his criminal history showed “a pattern of defiance against the law”.

“Given his drug use, his criminal history and the fact he was on bail at the time … I am satisfied the risk of granting bail would be unacceptable,” Justice Judd said.

Originally published as Suspected former Apex gang member among growing number of released detainees charged with criminal offences