Shane Zerafa, Rebels bikie Jamie Saliba accused of prison WhatsApp chats
A man has been charged with unlawfully communicating with a bikie inmate who was using the encrypted app WhatsApp right under the noses of prison chiefs.
Inner West
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The state’s bikie gang busting cops have smashed what they say is an illegal NSW jailhouse WhatsApp group chat operating behind bars under the noses of prison chiefs.
Detectives from Strike Force Raptor have charged alleged bikie associate Shane Zerafa, who they will allege in court was part of a communication network used on the popular encrypted app.
It is alleged Zerafa, 39, was unlawfully communicating with an inmate, Rebels bikie Jamie Saliba, who was in the Metro Remand and Reception Centre at Silverwater Jail.
Saliba was in custody at the time over charges relating to allegedly leading police on a chase through western Sydney with a loaded Glock hidden in his Harley Davidson motorbike.
Around the same time, Saliba was also facing charges for allegedly threatening to kill a NSW detective for keeping him from his “baby girl”.
“What? They won’t let me see my daughter, they can’t get me on any charges so they want to (stop me seeing her),” he is alleged to have said in recordings played to the Burwood Local Court.
“They are hitting below the belt at the worst possible time.
“I will get out and live at my Nan’s and then sue the c**ts, or kill (the detective), either one.”
Zerafa, from Freshwater, did not appear in court this morning, but has pleaded not guilty to the unlawful messages.
He was arrested by Raptor cops late last year after the communications came to light.
His lawyer Dean Doran asked for his case to be adjourned in Burwood Local Court on Tuesday morning as there was outstanding evidence relating to the phone.
Zerafa will return to court next month.