Man accused gunman searched for on night of shootings ‘caught up’ in a police drug sting: Court

The man accused Darwin gunman Ben Hoffmann was reportedly searching for during last year’s alleged deadly rampage was later ‘caught up’ in a police drug sting, a court has heard.

Alexandros Deligiannis leaves Darwin Local Court in June last year. Picture: Keri Megelus

THE man accused Darwin gunman Ben Hoffmann was reportedly searching for during last year’s alleged deadly rampage was later “caught up” in a police drug sting, a court has heard.

Stuart Park man Alexandros Deligiannis, 43, pleaded guilty in the Darwin Local Court on Wednesday to supplying less than a commercial quantity of methamphetamine.

• Accused Darwin gunman Ben Hoffmann to plead not guilty
• Alleged Darwin gunman wants committal process ‘done and dusted’ by early next year

Prosecutor Lajita Allan-Agnew said Deligiannis was busted by drug squad detectives who were monitoring his phone between November 11 last year and early January.

Ms Allan-Agnew said Deligiannis supplied his 61-year-old female co-offender with a total of 5g of the drug during that period which the woman then distributed to her “extensive network of contacts”.

But in requesting the matter be adjourned so Deligiannis could be assessed for residential rehabilitation, his lawyer Shane McMaster said his client was “not the person of primary interest” to police.

Mr McMaster said Deligiannis was a long-term drug user, who got “caught up in this sting” and now wished for a chance to address his addiction issues.

In adjourning the matter so a pre-sentence report could be prepared, judge Alan Woodcock said he found it “hard to believe” that Deligiannis had experienced an “epiphany in the cells” regarding his long history of drug abuse.

“I’ve expressed some cynicism but I hope it’s true,” he said.

“You do need to rehabilitate yourself.”

Deligiannis was remanded in custody and will return to court for sentencing on February 21.

LIMITED TIME offer: NT News subscription – 50 per cent off* for the first 12 weeks

In October last year, Deligiannis was fined $1400 and banned from driving for three months after pleading guilty in the Darwin Local Court to drug driving, failing to obey a police direction and driving unlicensed.

Benjamin Glenn Hoffmann has indicated he will plead not guilty to four counts of murder stemming from the shooting deaths of Nigel Hellings, Hassan Baydoun, Michael Sisois and Rob Courtney on June 4 last year.

Hoffmann is expected to be committed to stand trial in the Supreme Court later this month.