GC men on drugs, guns charges
A GOLD Coast man charged with trafficking several drugs – including cocaine and MDMA – as part of an organised crime network has fronted court for the first time.
Jordan Leigh Meyer appeared in Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday, facing four charges of trafficking dangerous drugs (serious organised crime) and one of contravening an order necessary to access information stored electronically.
Police allege the 29-yearold trafficked cocaine, MDMA, marijuana, and meth while a member of a crime organisation between February 1, 2022 and March 1 this year.
It is further alleged Meyer refused to give police his mobile phone PIN code when they searched his Merrimac home.
Marko Slomovic, 26, Meik Zoran Filipovic, 24, and Luca Edward Burness, 22, have all been conjointly charged with four counts of trafficking dangerous drugs.
A fifth co-accused, Alexander John Hart, has been charged with two counts of trafficking in relation to the same alleged operation.
He and Slomovic are both also charged with several other offences, including possessing dangerous drugs and trafficking Category D/H/R weapons.
Court documents allege
Slomovic’s charge relates to the latter two categories, which include handguns and machine guns or fully automatic military weapons.
He was allegedly found with cash and a car believed to be proceeds of trafficking.
Police were unable to provide further details of the alleged offending when asked by the Bulletin.
Meyer was the only one of the group to make an application for bail following their overnight arrest.
Prosecutor Sammi Dutschke said the Merrimac man was an “unacceptable risk” of fleeing upon his release from custody, as he had associates overseas and allegedly texted his co-accused saying he would “go on the run” if arrested.
She said Meyer was allegedly involved in the drug ring for at least 10 months, and lied to police during their investigation about working as a concreter.
“The material indicates an established network – not just within the five co-accused that have matters before Your Honour today – but also for a larger network of people,” Ms Dutschke said.
“(Meyer) is involved in the day-to-day operations of the trafficking … including facilitating the supply of multi-kilo quantities.
“The messages by (Meyer) indicate he does owe a significant amount of money to another crew in the range of $300,000.”
Ms Dutschke claimed Meyer also had Outlaw Motorcycle Gang links.
Defence lawyer Jason Grant said there was no evidence Meyer sent the text messages, as police downloaded them from a co-accused’s phone and never found the other device.
He told the court Meyer was not found with drugs or related paraphernalia, and had a limited criminal history.
“It’s not accepted that it’s (Meyer) communicating – it’s entirely serious offending, (an) entirely strong case, if there was evidence it was Mr Meyer committing it,” Mr Grant said.
“In my submission, on the evidence before Your Honour, there doesn’t seem to be a risk to his safety based on the money they’re owing.”
He said Meyer would continue living with his mother, who was willing to provide a $200,000 surety, and be subject to a curfew if released.
Magistrate Veena Goverdhan refused Meyer’s bail on the grounds he may reoffend or interfere with witnesses or proceedings while in the community.
Meyer, Burness, and Slomovic will all be remanded in custody until their matters are next mentioned on March 9.
Hart’s case is due to be heard on March 3, and Filipovic’s on March 17. They will both also remain in custody.