Alleged bikie Erkan Keskin breaches bail by not wearing GPS tracker

AN alleged Sydney bikie on multi-million dollar drug manufacturing charges left his GPS tracker bracelet in his luxurious harbour apartment when he had to attend court on the Gold Coast, it has been revealed.

Erkan Keskin leaves Southport Court. Picture: Alexandria Utting

AN alleged Sydney bikie on multi-million dollar drug manufacturing charges left his electronic bracelet in his luxurious Sydney apartment when he had to attend court on the Gold Coast, it has been revealed.

Erkan ‘The Wolf” Keskin is alleged to have twice failed to abide by his bail conditions to wear an ankle bracelet and keep it charged at all times as part of his strict bail conditions imposed on him last year.

Police allege that Keskin is the National President of the Lone Wolf bikie gang who runs clandestine ice-making laboratories in Sydney and involved in the importation of drugs then distributed in Queensland.

Erkan Keskin leaves Paddington Police Station as part of parole conditions.

The alleged ice kingpin, who police claim has amassed a $4 million fortune, narrowly avoided having his bail revoked for trying to “avoid being monitored” by not wearing his GPS tracker ordered by a Queensland court.

He has been allowed to live in Sydney while awaiting trial later this year.

Acting Senior Sergeant Christopher Walsh told the Brisbane Supreme Court in a sworn statement last month that he believes Keskin “is exploiting… the failings of the monitoring device” when the signal fails or if the battery is flat “as an opportunity to avoid being monitored”.

Snr Sgt Walsh said Keskin was not monitored for five hours on June 10, because his tracker ran out of battery.

“It is unclear to me why Mr Keskin has not returned home to recharge the device or alternatively taken the battery charger with him,” Snr Sgt Walsh stated.

Snr Sgt Walsh also alleges Keskin “forgot” to take his tracker with him when he travelled to the Gold Coast in May for his committal hearing on the trafficking charges.

He was without his tracker between May 21 and 23, the court was told.

Keskin lives in a luxury 23rd floor apartment overlooking Sydney Harbour called Highgate, court documents state.

Snr Sgt Walsh alleges the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission databse records that Keskin is the national president of the Lone Wolf bikie gang.

He alleges Keskin is a “very high level organizer, boss and controller” of “multiple” ice syndicates.’

On June 29, the Director of Public Prosecutions applied to the Supreme Court for an order revoking the bail of Erkan Keskin, 40, from Millers Point in Sydney’s central business district.

But last Monday the DPP reversed their position, and withdrew their application to revoke Keskin’s bail.

The condition was part of his strict bail given by Justice Ann Lyons on November 9 last year.

Keskin’s sister in law Shanelle Keskin, from the Sydney suburb of St Clair, has put up $700,000 surety to secure his freedom.

“Keskin is also well noted as a prolific launderer of money derived from the sale of imported drugs and is believed to utilize the proceeds gained in investing in future importations,” Snr Sgt Walsh says in his affidavit.

Keskin was arrested on October 18 and charged with trafficking in ice between November 2013 and April 2015.

“In October 2016 the Crime and Corruption Commission has received information from a confidential and reliable human source…that Erkan Keskin is heavily entrenched in the production of ice and utilizes sophisticated methodologies to transact the sale of ice throughout Australia with other orgniased criminal drug syndicates,” Snr Sgt Walsh states.

Keskin is accused of supplying ice to Gold Coast man Paul Vella, 46, who allegedly distributed the drugs to Queensland. Vella has not been charged over this, but has been charged over a commercial scale meth lab in the NSW country town of Cowra.

Keskin is alleged to have spoken about ice deals in “code” where drugs were referred to as car parts. The case is based on up to 1000 phone interecepts, the court was told.

Keskin faces 25 years if convicted of trafficking. He claims he is an “advisor” with a Sydney crane company but police allege he is unemployed. He lived in Dubai in 2015.

He was originally forced to report twice daily to police, but currenly reports to The Rocks police station once a week.