Comanchero bikie ‘associate’ offers up father’s house in bid for bail

Alleged bikie associate and convicted drug dealer Omar Terkmani launched a new bid for bail, six months after he was arrested on fresh drug charges.

An alleged associate of the Comancheros has been denied Supreme Court bail to attend rehab, despite his father offering up the family home as security.

Convicted drug dealer Omar Terkmani has been in custody on remand since his arrest last December after he and co-accused Ismael Ratel were allegedly discovered in possession of two kilograms of illicit party drugs and a 9mm pistol following an investigation by anti-bikie police Strike Force Raptor.

Court documents said detectives had been monitoring a house in Punchbowl and a Toyota Hiace van belonging to Terkmani for a number of days before stopping the vehicle in Bankstown on December 29.

Ratel was driving while Terkmani was in the rear section, police said.

A search of the van allegedly uncovered $7000 in cash, along with 440g of MDMA and 650g of methamphetamine secreted in a hidden compartment cut into the vehicle’s chassis.

Two Comanchero bikie associates were arrested allegedly in possesion of $1m worth of drugs and a 9mm pistol. Omar Terkmani, 37 and Ismael Ratel, 23, were in a Toyota Hiace van.

Omar Terkmani, 37 and Ismael Ratel, 23, were in a Toyota Hiace van when they were stopped by members of the raptor Squad in Eldridge street in Bankstown.

Police raided the Punchbowl address a short time later where they alleged found more drugs and a 9mm pistol with a detached silencer and ammunition cartridges.

In total, police seized 1.2kg of methamphetamine and 1.08kg of MDMA.

Omar Terkmani, 37 and Ismael Ratel, 23, were stopped by members of the raptor Squad in Eldridge street in Bankstown last night.

Terkmani and Ratel were both charged with commercial drug supply, dealing with the proceeds of crime and firearms charges and remanded in custody.

Terkmani’s lawyer, Gabrielle Bashir SC, told the Supreme Court on Friday her client was seeking bail after securing a bed in a drug rehabilitation centre.

Ms Bashir did not name the facility in court but The Daily Telegraph has confirmed the centre proposed was Connect Global, near Port Stephens.

If released, the 38-year-old father-of-four would have joined fellow alleged Comanchero associate Matthew Douet, who was granted bail on Thursday to attend the program, as well as fallen TV star Andrew O’Keefe, who has been living at the Christian-oriented rehab centre for a month.

Ismael Ratel arrested by strikeforce raptor after allegedly being found with a large amount of drugs and a 9mm pistol in a car alongside Omar Terkmani.

Ms Bashir said Terkmani had previously served jail time for drug offences in 2015.

“The nature of that offence supports that this is someone who needs residential rehabilitation,” she said.

The court heard Terkmani’s wife wrote an affidavit supporting her husband’s bid for bail, saying he had begun “taking drugs” and “behaving erratically” in mid 2020.

Terkmani’s father offered the deeds to the family home, worth $730,000, as surety to secure his son’s release.

Omar Terkmani in 2016 was arrest on drug supply charges in 2016. Picture: Stephen Cooper

Prosecutor Rafaella Buttini argued against bail, saying the evidence against Terkmani was “very robust”.

“Should the applicant be convicted of these offences, a lengthy custodial sentence is inevitable,” she said.

“The other concerning aspect of this matter, as well as the quantity of drugs, there was the firearm located. The fact he may have had access to a firearm is of significant concern.”

In refusing bail, Justice Robert Beech-Jones agreed the case against Terkmani appeared “extremely strong” and said his drug addiction could “hardly be said to be the motivating factor behind a rather sophisticated drug supply network”.

The matter will return to court on August 17.