Bendigo’s Mark Swift, 47, charged with trafficking cocaine, meth

A Bendigo man has allegedly been busted trafficking cocaine and meth after he was arrested with two mates in a car near Lake Eppalock.

Police allege Mark Swift was trafficking meth when he was arrested near Lake Eppalock.

A convicted Bendigo drug dealer has allegedly been busted trafficking cocaine and meth after getting out of prison for drug trafficking, a court has heard.

Mark Smith, 47, applied for bail at Bendigo Magistrates’ Court charged with drug trafficking.

On March 14 police arrested Smith and two associates in the vicinity of Lake Eppalock allegedly driving a car with false plates, seizing a black Tommy Hilfiger bag containing 3.87g of cocaine and 1.6g of meth.

Police raided his Junortoun house and allegedly revealed 16g of cocaine, 12.4g of heroin, about 18g of methamphetamine and two tabs of what is believed to be LSD alongside $11,000 suspected of being drug money.

Police allege Mark Swift was trafficking meth.

Swift said he won the money gambling, but police alleged the cash was to buy more drugs to traffic, police allege.

Police seized an associate’s phone which allegedly had multiple text message threads organising drug trafficking with the accused’s phone number.

Police allege the associate was a drug runner and bag man for Swift.

The court heard Swift was serving a community corrections order at the time of his arrest after he was convicted in March 2024 of selling methamphetamine.

Swift was sentenced to 10 months in prison followed by the community corrections order after police found the drug dealer lying face down on the side of the road in Quarry Hill, rendered unconscious by drugs or alcohol, with 28g of methamphetamine in his pocket while on bail for drug related offences.

Swift, through a legal aid lawyer, argued he should be released to a residential rehabilitation centre – with his partner and family fronting $45,000 to get him a spot.

But police opposed his bail bid, arguing he would just continue to use drug runners and use bag men to traffic drugs.

Police said the drug dealer had previously attended residential rehab only to return to his criminal associates and lifestyle.

Magistrate Trieu Huynh refused Swift’s bail application.