Key pieces of evidence to be heard in Matthew Battah and Benjamin Pitt drug trial
Key pieces of evidence such as BlackBerry phones, transcribed texts and ledgers will be viewed by a jury who will decide the fate of two men accused of overseeing one of Australia’s largest drug syndicates.
Central Sydney
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Key pieces of evidence such as BlackBerry phones, transcribed texts and ledgers will be viewed by a jury who will decide the fate of two men accused of overseeing one of Australia’s largest drug syndicates.
Matthew Battah, 39, and Benjamin Pitt, 42, were extradited to Australia in September 2022 to face charges for their part in allegedly conspiring to import a $150m haul of drugs.
It is alleged by police the duo have links to the Lone Wolf bikie gang and were involved in the importation of ice, MDMA and cannabis across 2013 and 2014.
The pair have been charged with a slew of drug import and trafficking offences, including three counts of importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, trafficking drugs of a commercial quantity, conspiracy, and dealing with property proceeds of crime of more than $1m.
Battah and Pitt have maintained not guilty pleas, and have been in custody since they were extradited from Dubai in 2022.
In court on Tuesday, Judge Peter McGuire revealed what pieces of evidence the prosecution will present during the trial.
These include the entries in ledgers allegedly belonging to Battah, who police allege oversaw financial aspects of the criminal enterprise.
Along with the ledgers, the jury will also be presented with messages found in BlackBerry phones, which police allege refer to “substantial payments” to an individual.
Another piece of evidence the prosecutors will present, is the alleged involvement of Battah and Pitt in a $5000 payment to another individual’s wife.
“The Crown relies on that evidence as part of its circumstantial case concerning the participation by each of the accused in the relevant conspiratorial agreements, and as part of its case that each of the accused was involved in a vertically integrated drug importation and trafficking business,” Mr McGuire said.
“In light of that other evidence, I am satisfied that the coincidence evidence in conjunction with the other evidence to be led by the Crown has significant probative value in that it is capable of being important or of consequence in establishing the participation of each of the accused and the relevant importation conspiracies.
“I am satisfied that the probative value of the evidence outweighs, and indeed substantially outweighs any prejudicial effect it may have on either of the accused.”
Battah and Pitt will stand trial at Downing Centre later this year.
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