Colin Barnett, Heath Trudgett: Two refused bail over alleged bike shop drug business
Police claim a father-of-seven used his bike shop as an alleged drug headquarters, allegedly “boasting” to customers he was operating right under the nose of police.
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An Illawarra man accused of using his bike repair shop as a “smokescreen” for an alleged drug dealing business has been refused bail.
Colin Barnett, 55, faced Wollongong Local Court on Monday, after police raided his Crown Street Mall store Custom Recycled Cycles on Friday, which was allegedly being used as his meth-dealing headquarters.
On Monday, the court heard Barnett “boasted” about his dealing, which allegedly took place less than 100 metres from Wollongong Police Station.
“Electronic evidence recorded conversations in relation to drug activity, along with remarks indicating that (Barnett’s) activities are ‘so close to the police they don’t know he’s there’,” police allege in court documents.
“It is evident that the accused used regular customer traffic coming and going from the store as a smokescreen to avoid detection.”
In refusing the father-of-seven’s bail on Monday, Magistrate Claire Girotto said no conditions could mitigate the risk he posed to the community, and to himself in the event he decided to deal drugs while on bail.
“The supply of drugs can be done almost anywhere and putting conditions in place just isn’t enough,” she said.
“I can’t grant bail”.
In documents tendered to the court, police allege Barnett supplied a total of 20.26 grams of ice on 16 separate occasions between September 9 and October 1.
The documents said police established Strike Force Fame in April to investigate the alleged supply of drugs from the business, after information was received from the public the bike shop was instead peddling drugs.
Police used phone taps to investigate Barnett, and allegedly captured him using codenames
like “snooker”, “boat” and “pokies” to covertly discuss the supply and sale of drugs.
Barnett and his business partner Heath Trudgett were both arrested on Friday after the bike shop was raided.
In court documents, police allege they seized drug paraphernalia from the shop, including digital scales, containers holding remnants of a crystalline substance believed to be meth, as well as a set of nunchucks.
Barnett was subsequently charged with 16 counts of supply prohibited drug, supply prohibited drugs on an ongoing basis, six counts of never licensed person drive on road and organise/conduct/assist drug premises.
Trudgett was charged with 11 counts of driving a motor vehicle during disqualification period and briefly appeared before Wollongong Court from a jail cell on Monday, before the case was adjourned to November.
Barnett will remain on remand in custody until he next appears before the court in December.