Danny Zayneh accused of $1b ice and cocaine conspiracy as part of ANOM sting

An accused $1b drug ringleader has been compared to Tony Mokbel in court as he makes a desperate bid for bail.

A suspected drug syndicate ringleader should be denied bail because he runs the risk of doing a “Mokbel” and fleeing the country if released, a court has heard.

Danny Zayneh, 39, made a desperate bid for bail on Monday, after being charged with conspiring to import $1b worth of ice and cocaine into Australia, as part of a major sting involving the use of encrypted chat app ANOM.

Prosecutors opposed his release, arguing he was too great a flight risk and likened his case to that of drug kingpin Tony Mokbel.

Mokbel infamously fled to Greece in 2006 after being granted bail in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on drug trafficking charges.

He became Australia’s most wanted fugitive and was later found nearly six months later by Greek police in Athens.

During a bail application on Monday, the court heard Mr Zayneh had offered a $1.85m surety to secure his release.

Tony Mokbel, wearing his infamous wig, fled justice in Australia but was tracked to Greece. Picture: AFP

But prosecutor Krista Breckweg said the sum paled in comparison to his suspected wealth.

The court heard police had evidence Mr Zayneh used the app to message and meet with co-accused to plan the importation of 1.6 tonnes of drugs from Los Angeles and India.

Police allegedly located firearms and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash at his home, including $7.5 million in assets.

Defence lawyer Eamonn Kelly argued Mr Zayneh should be granted bail to help his wife who has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and his mother who has Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

He said the wife will now be unable to look after their five-year-old son who also suffers from mental illness.

Mr Kelly said if granted bail, Mr Zayneh would be subjected to a curfew, full-time work where his manager would be required to notify police if he failed to turn up.

The whole family would be required to surrender their passports.

But Ms Breckweg said Mr Zayneh remained too great a risk to the community.

“Communications that were captured on ANOM provide overwhelming evidence,” she said.

“(He) has access to encrypted devices which are not capable of supervision or monitoring.”

Mr Zayneh was allegedly caught conspiring to import drugs as part of the ANOM sting. Picture: AFP

The court was also told Mr Zayneh had previously been sentenced to two years in prison for drug trafficking.

Mr Kelly said his client’s alleged connections to organised crime were just “speculative” and argued there was “no direct forensic evidence” to link his client to the ANOM messages.

“The data has been aggregated from many insecure sources including unknown third parties,” he said.

In a world exclusive the Herald Sun revealed Australian Federal Police, as part of Operation Ironside, had swooped on dozens of people linked to the Mafia, bikies and organised crime after setting up the ANOM app to trick them into thinking their conversations were hidden from authorities.

The alleged plan to import large quantities of drugs by Mr Zayneh and the Melbourne syndicate was among the crimes police say they prevented by monitoring chats on the app.

Magistrate Timothy Bourke acknowledged Mr Zayneh had spent a “lengthy time” waiting behind bars due to delays in court.

He will hand down his decision on Friday.