Michal Mantaj, Trial Advocate and Accredited Specialist in Criminal Law, recently appeared for a client charged with supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, namely MDMA. It is very unusual for an individual charged with supplying a commercial quantity of drugs to be granted bail as the maximum penalty for the offence is life imprisonment. The client was remanded in custody from the time of his arrest due to the serious nature of the charge.
Mr Mantaj applied for a grant of bail in the Gosford Local Court which was strongly opposed by Police. The Police submitted that no bail conditions could be imposed that would mitigate the unacceptable risk posed by our client being released back into the community while awaiting the finalisation of his matter. This offence is a ‘show cause’ offence meaning that, for the purposes of making an application for bail, the onus shifts to the defence to convince the Court that there are strong reasons for the bail to be granted. Mr Mantaj successfully convinced the Court that the proposed bail conditions be imposed to overcome these risks. The Prosecution indicated they would make a detention application in the Supreme Court; however, they did not pursue this application.
Our client was therefore granted bail pending the finalisation of the proceedings.
