The Shoalhaven Local Area commander has strongly supported a Nowra-based detective who was criticised in Port Kembla Court on Wednesday.
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Superintendent Joe Cassar described Detective Michael Nunn as an exceptional detective, who had his full support.
Det Nunn was criticised for his tardiness in preparing the prosecution cases against four men accused of running a large-scale drug ring between Sydney and the South Coast.
The case has cost taxpayers more than $15,000 and landed Det Nunn with a “please explain” from everyone involved.
Daniel Wayne Turner, from Sanctuary Point, Vincentia’s Graeme Anthony McGilvray and Yallah man Anthony Bojlevski, together with Mitchell Francesco Franco, were charged with multiple drug offences stemming from allegations they were part of a wide-scale criminal group responsible for distributing bulk amounts of methamphetamine throughout the Illawarra, South Coast and some parts of Sydney in 2013 and 2014.
The police operation that saw the men arrested was led by officers from the Shoalhaven LAC’s criminal investigation unit, with court papers identifying Det Nunn as the officer in charge (OIC).
The court heard one of the primary roles of an OIC is gathering all the evidence police and the prosecution will rely on to prove their case.
The information, referred to as a brief of evidence, can include witness statements, post-mortem results, reports from experts such as doctors and psychologists, drug analysis certificates and more.
Once it is completed, a copy of the brief is given to defence lawyers to show what evidence is being proposed to use against their clients.
It was stated by the defence for one of the accused that Det Nunn had recently been ordered to attend court if the brief was not served and had failed to turn up.
Supt Cassar said Det Nunn had not been requested to attend court on Wednesday.
“There was no request from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution for the detective to appear on Wednesday,” he said.
“It was a paper committal and there was no requirement, as there often isn’t, for the officer in charge to be there.
“Det Nunn is an exceptional detective and he has my full support.”
In Port Kembla Local Court on Wednesday, prosecutors withdrew all charges against Mr Franco, before advising lawyers for the remaining accused that their cases had stalled once again.
Steven Boland, acting for McGilvray, said he’d never experienced such a delay.
He said the information he’d received so far was “in complete disarray”, describing it as “one of the worst briefs I have ever seen”.
He claimed the police statement of facts - a document that sets out a basic overview of the alleged conduct that led to the charges - failed to even mention 17 of the 27 offences his client had been charged with.
He noted Det Nunn had recently been ordered to attend court if the brief was not served, and had failed to turn up.
Fellow counsel, Jane Healey, said the brief against Bojlevski was also “completely inadequate”.
Ms Healey and Mr Boland applied for the prosecution to pay their clients’ legal fees for the day, given it was not ready to move forward with the case.
The request was granted, with Magistrate Michael Stoddart awarding a combined $15,000 to cover preparation time and the court appearance fees of both lawyers.
It is the second time taxpayer dollars have had to cover legal fees in the cases, with Magistrate Stoddart also awarding costs to the defence on a previous occasion due to delay.
The cases of the three remaining defendants will return to court at a later date.