Sydney plumber Joshua Gotsis, 23, was granted bail in Supreme Court on February 9 over serious drug supply charges relating to his alleged involvement in supplying 1.2kg of cocaine as part of a Sutherland Shire dial-a-dealer operation from July to December last year.
During the hearing, the court heard new information from a police statement of facts which alleged Gotsis was “trusted” to transport 6 kilograms of meth, worth more than a $1 million, for the drug syndicate.
The court had previously heard syndicate organisers allegedly used a “central control phone” to send mass messages to 1900 contacts while buyers would place their orders before runners would deliver their cocaine and MDMA.
Police arrested alleged leader Mohammed El-Sammak, 28, along with Joshua David Hargreaves, 23, and a number of other alleged runners late last year.
Police alleged Gotsis was the main phone operator with Hargreaves helping out when he was busy.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Gotsis was charged with large commercial drug supply, ongoing drug supply, knowingly dealing with crime proceeds, knowingly directing a criminal group, and failing to comply with a digital evidence access order direction.
On Friday, Gotsis’ defence lawyer Elias Tabchouri told the court the new allegations suggested Gotsis was a “transporter” of the drugs and that he wasn’t involved in the negotiations. Mr Tabchouri further noted that his client was allegedly a “worker” who did not establish the syndicate.
Justice Sarah McNaughton said the allegations against Gotsis were serious, with some involving maximum penalties of life imprisonment and the case against him “appeared reasonably strong.”
She accepted that he was not the “head of the syndicate but appears to have a serious level of responsibility,” adding he was “under the control of the head of the syndicate and did the head of the syndicate’s bidding.”
Justice McNaughton agreed to grant Gotsis bail on the terms that he must live with his grandparents in Revesby, report to police daily, not leave the house without his parents and not take illegal drugs among other strict conditions.
Source: The Herald Sun.
