A medically-discharged army veteran imported 500 grams of cocaine while his best mate had 2.5 kilograms delivered, all from Ireland to their homes in five packages, a court has heard.
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Stephen Alan Fenn, 34, was granted bail in Wollongong Local Court on Thursday after he was arrested and charged with importing a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug.
Coniston's Danny Nikolovski did not apply for bail and his case was adjourned to Friday.
Documents tendered to court said Lake Illawarra Police's drug unit started investigating Fenn and Nikolovski's alleged importation of cocaine from Ireland in October this year.
Australian Border Force officials seized a consignment of 'chocolate crisps' sent via air mail through DHL allegedly from a Paul Fenn in Ireland on October 3. It was due to be delivered to Fenn's Brownsville home on October 13.
Following an examination of the package, two small boxes labelled, 'Cadbury Moist Chocolate Cake Mix', contained foil sachets with a white powdery substance inside.
It was tested and identified as cocaine, weighing an estimated 500 grams.
On October 12, investigators organised a controlled delivery of an inert substance inside the consignment and delivered it to Fenn, who confirmed he was waiting for a package, provided his driver's licence to confirm his identity and accepted it.
Following investigations, police further allege five consignments were previously delivered to a Barrack Heights home, believed to be Nikolovski's previous address.
The consignments were allegedly sent from the same Ireland consignor address and had similar descriptions such as "cake mix" on March 22, June 8, June 22, September 7 and September 14 this year.
Investigators allege Nikolovski imported two kilograms from Ireland into Australia plus the 500 grams Fenn and Nikolvoski had sent on October 3.
The documents indicated the consignor's address in Ireland had previously been recorded as sending eight packages to Australia using different names, but mainly the last names Fenn and Nikolovski, since 2011.
The Roads and Maritime database indicate the mates lived together at a unit in Unanderra between August and September 2018.
Fenn was voluntarily interviewed on October 13 where he told officers he was expecting a package containing pyjama pants.
He allegedly said that without opening the package he realsied it wasn't the pyjamas and intended to contact DHL.
He said he did not know consignor Paul Fenn nor had relatives overseas, before admitting to recreationally using cocaine.
Fenn allegedly did not disclose he had previously lived with Nikolovski, later claiming he could not remember as it was only a short time.
During a second voluntary interview, Fenn told investigators Nikolovski was one of his best mates and they had known each other since high school, adding they spoke on a regular basis. He also said they had previously taken drugs together.
When questioned further about the packages, Fenn allegedly stated, "my take is that he (Nikolovski) has been getting packages before and then used my address by the looks of it now, hoping to like get one delivered to me".
Meanwhile, police allege a mobile phone number, which was used to check on the status of the consignment, was registered to an unrelated person and was created for the sole purpose of avoiding police detection whilst tracking the packages and communicating with Nikolovski.
Police monitored the number, and records indicate there were 89 text message and two phone calls between Nikolovksi and the user of the mobile service number. Nikolovski was allegedly the only number contacted from the number.
Investigators said records showed the user of the mobile phone and Nikolovski allegedly were in contact after the consignments were tracked, and Nikolovski and Fenn exchanged text messages allegedly related to the 500 grams of cocaine on October 5.
On Wednesday, police stopped Nikolovski on the M1 Motorway near Minnamurra where he was arrested and taken to Lake Illawarra Police Station. They seized phones and other electronic devices from his car and home.
Fenn was arrested the same day at his home and both were charged.
In court on Thursday, police prosecutor Sean Thackray said there was a serious risk Fenn could flee the country, especially because the allegation suggested he had connections with someone in Ireland.
Sgt Thackray also suggested Fenn may interfere with witnesses to "corroborate their stories".
Defence lawyer Emel Ozer conceded the prosecution had a strong case against her client yet Fenn had a limited criminal record.
Ms Ozer said Fenn served in the Australian army for seven years and was deployed to East Timor but was medically discharged and receives a disability pension.
Magistrate Gabriel Fleming granted Fenn bail due to his "almost negligible" criminal history, his local ties to the community through his residence and family but noted a lengthy custodial sentence was likely if he was found guilty.
Fenn must report to the police twice a day, not contact or go near the Nikolovski, not consume drugs or alcohol, not leave home at night, not apply for a new passport nor approach any point of departure and an acceptable person had to acknowledge he would comply with the bail conditions.
The case will return to court on February 10.
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