Alleged meth manufacturer Tony Zaiter granted bail on drug charges

Police allege they found handwritten notes on how to cook meth inside Tony Zaiter’s apartment. Now he has been granted bail to live in a plush, three-bedroom apartment featuring some of Sydney’s best views.

A tradie accused of helping to set up a sophisticated meth lab inside a home on a rural Kenthurst property has traded his jail cell for a plush Sydney high-rise.

Police allege carpenter Tony Zaiter, 51, a convicted drug manufacturer who spent six years behind bars for cooking ecstasy in 2010, returned to his old habits in June this year, allegedly joining two other men in establishing the beginnings of a “commercial-sized” manufacturing enterprise inside a secluded, 2ha rental property on Hidden Valley Lane, a court has heard.

Australian Federal Police acting under Operation Doback arrested Mr Zaiter alongside Antonio Cannella, 44, from Gledswood Hills, and Chad Galea, 43, from Gregory Hills, at the homestead on July 19.

Police will allege a search of Mr Zaiter’s home in North Sydney the following day uncovered detailed handwritten recipes for how to cook meth.

All three men were charged with conspiring to manufacture a commercial quantity of methamphetamine and possessing equipment for the commercial manufacture of controlled drugs.

Tony Zaiter is facing new drug operation charges and is out on bail.

Zaiter’s new Pyrmont homes comes with a pool.

A fourth man, Enrico Poiatzo (also know as Raymond Naanouh), 51, from Oran Park, was arrested at his panel-beating business in Minto the following day and charged with commercial drug trafficking, after police allegedly discovered 6kg of ice stored in Tupperware containers in an upstairs office.

When interviewed by detectives, Mr Poiatzo denied having any involvement in the drugs or knowing they were at the premises, telling police he had allowed Mr Galea and Mr Cannella to use the room — no questions asked.

Meanwhile, Mr Zaiter spent more than two months in custody on remand before being granted bail by the NSW Supreme Court last month to live with his sister and her husband in a luxury three-bedroom high-rise at Pyrmont.

Mr Zaiter’s new digs, which feature sweeping views of Balmain, the Anzac Bridge and Rozelle Bay, are a far cry from the small jail cell he occupied inside Parklea prison.

As part of his bail, Mr Zaiter will be subject to electronic monitoring under house arrest conditions, meaning he must not leave the unit unless he is reporting to police or attending medical or legal appointments — and even then, he must be accompanied by his sister or brother-in-law, who agreed to lodge a $2m surety to secure his release.

It is unclear if the monitoring will extend beyond the unit and allow Mr Zaiter to take a plunge in the building’s ground-floor pool.

Habour Bridge views from the Pyrmont apartment block.

According to court documents, police began monitoring Mr Zaiter and his co-accused in June, setting up covert surveillance to keep track of the trio’s movements.They allege the men were in contact with each other about building the laboratory, with Galea allegedly tasked with purchasing equipment to outfit it.

Police allege they tracked Galea as he attended multiple different Bunnings stores, as well as a laboratory supply shop and a catering equipment retailer, to collect the required furnishings.

Meanwhile, the court heard a police surveillance device planted inside Zaiter’s Toyota Hilux allegedly recorded him speaking to Cannella about other times he had been “caught because he was rushing” and saying the judge “would laugh at him for reoffending”.

The Crown alleges Zaiter was referencing his previous drug manufacturing convictions.

In granting bail, Justice Tim Faulkner accepted Zaiter faced lengthy jail time if convicted of the offences but found the stringent bail conditions offered were sufficient to reduce his risk of committing further offence or fleeing the state.

Cannella, Galea and Poiatzo remain bail refused.

The cases against all four men will return to court on November 13.

Do you have a story for The Daily Telegraph? Message 0481 056 618 or email [e-mail]