Cannabis bust at alleged Rebels ‘safe house’ linked to Operation Ironside

Five of six men charged over a $1.5 million cannabis and cash bust sent about 40,000 messages to each other using the encrypted AN0M app, a court has heard.

Five of six men charged over a $1.5 million cannabis and cash bust were using the encrypted AN0M app and investigators must wade through about 40,000 messages between the men, a court has heard.

The men – Michael, 36, and Aaron Daniele, 32, Jason Howett-Elliott, 40, John Leon Scott Hulse, 45, Scott Hiscock, 34, and Robert Leigh Marshall, 38 – were each due to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday to enter pleas.

But Commonwealth prosecutors told Chief Magistrate, Judge Mary-Louise Hribal the matter was linked to the Operation Ironside organised crime sting.

They asked the case be adjourned for five months to allow investigators to comb through the messages and some “outstanding physical forensic work”.

“Police will allege all but one of the accused were using the encrypted AN0M app,” he said,

“There are approximately 40,000 messages and police are in the process of analysing those.”

He expected a brief of evidence to be available to defence lawyers in December.

The men are each charged with a count of trafficking in a commercial quantity of a controlled drug.

At the time of their arrest in early February, State and Federal police alleged they found more than 320kg of dried cannabis and $50,000 in cash during a raid at a property in Northfield they suspected was a Rebels Outlaw Motorcycle Gang “safe house”.

Images from inside the alleged Rebels ‘safe house’ at Northfield. Picture: AFP

Images from inside the alleged Rebels ‘safe house’ at Northfield. Picture: AFP

Images released by the Australian Federal Police at the time show large bags of dried cannabis in the process of being vacuum sealed.

At the time, AFP Detective Superintendent Gavin Stone said the cannabis seized could have netted approximately $1.55 million in illicit profits.

“This is a significant seizure and we are pleased to prevent so much of this illicit drug from reaching the South Australian community,” he said.

“We will alleged that the Rebels OMCG was profiting from this illicit operation.”

Judge Hribal adjourned the case to a date in February when multiple other men charged with separate cases linked to the Operation Ironside sting are also expected to appear.

The police sting culminated in “resolution day” on June 7, when more than 40 people were arrested in SA on charges ranging from conspiracy to murder to drug trafficking to money laundering.

The arrests in June, and the months before, stemmed from the encrypted AN0M phone app which was secretly being monitored by law enforcement authorities around the world.

Originally published as Cannabis bust at alleged Rebels ‘safe house’ linked to Operation Ironside