Dion Stamatelopoulos and Igli Jahollari face court over second Adelaide drug bust

One of the men charged over Adelaide’s second giant drug bust this week was arrested with nearly $100,000 stuffed in a cereal box in his family’s pantry.

A nut store worker accused of being part of a sophisticated cannabis trafficking operation hid $92,000 cash in a cereal box in his family’s pantry, a court has heard.

The Adelaide Magistrates Court has been asked to release Dion Stamatelopoulos, 38, of Flinders Park, on bail, with his lawyer saying one of his two children will suffer severe anxiety and not be able to sleep if his father does not come home.

The court was also asked to release a second man, Igli Jahollari, 31, of Underdale, on bail over the same alleged syndicate.

The university student, who is not an Australian citizen, offered the court a $10,000 cash surety – raising the concern of magistrate Teresa Anderson.

“You will need to provide further details to police so they can make sure that money comes from legal, and not illegal, sources,” she told Jallohari’s lawyer.

Albanian-Italian student Igli Jahollari has been charged over a huge Adelaide drug bust. Picture: Facebook

A vintage Monaro, wads of cash and kilograms of cannabis were seized in the second major drug bust in metropolitan Adelaide in the space of four days, as Mr Stamatelopoulos and Mr Jahollari were arrested alongside five other men.

The car, cash and drugs were taken by police after the Serious and Organised Crime Branch raided nine homes on Thursday and Friday.

It was the same specialist group behind a raid and arrest of eight people earlier this week.

Mr Stamatelopoulos faces the most serious allegations related to the latest raids, charged with trafficking a large commercial quantity of a controlled drug, trafficking a controlled drug, cultivating cannabis, possessing prescribed equipment and interfering with electricity.

Mr Jallohari was charged with cultivating cannabis, possessing prescribed equipment and interfering with electricity.

The second seizure netted $116,000 cash, a vintage Holden Monaro, 82 cannabis plants and almost six kilograms of dried marijuana.

A 55-year-old from Broadview, 59-year-old from Paradise, 38-year-old from Salisbury North, 63-year-old from Klemzig and 68-year-old from Highbury were charged alongside the Flinder Park and Underdale duo.

They were all granted police bail and will face court next year.

A vintage Holden Monaro, cash and cannabis was among items seized in a SA Police serious crime bust. Picture: SA Police

SAPOL have arrested seven men after Detectives conducted searches of nine premises on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 December Picture: SA Police

On Friday, the court heard Mr Stamatelopoulos was allegedly caught driving a car that was not registered in his name with 900 grams of dried cannabis in the boot and $1700 cash.

It also heard a further $92,000 was found in his home “in a cereal box in the pantry”.

Counsel for Mr Stamatelopoulos said their client had no criminal history, a supportive wife, two children, a $470k mortgage and a job three days a week “doing the merchandising” at an Adelaide nut shop.

She asked her client be released on bail, saying his wife could serve as a guarantor.

Ms Anderson said she was not prepared to accept the wife as a suitable person, given what was in the cereal box.

She remanded Mr Statata in custody until Thursday for a home detention report.

Counsel for Mr Jahollari said their client had Italian and Albanian passports, but believed police had already confiscated them.

They said he could offer a $10,000 cash surety to support his promise that he would not flee the state, despite having no ties to South Australia whatsoever.

Ms Anderson said she would only consider home detention bail, and remanded Mr Jahollari in custody until Thursday.

Originally published as Dion Stamatelopoulos and Igli Jahollari face court over second Adelaide drug bust