A Canberra man caught with suspected stolen goods, including 70 Lego sets and 300 bottles of alcohol, has been denied bail in the ACT Magistrates Court.
Kris Taps Fridemanis, 36, is facing five charges, including possession of property suspected of being stolen, receiving stolen property and drug trafficking.
Sergeant David Power told the court police believed Mr Fridemanis was part of an organised retail crime syndicate, where people would bring items they had stolen and be paid in drugs.
The court heard other items seized in a raid of Mr Fridemanis's home included $35,000 in cash and suspected synthetic heroin.
Sergeant Power said Mr Fridemanis was originally identified from phone taps on another person who was arrested at the same time.
He told the court police believed Mr Fridemanis was referred to as 'Mick' in the phone conversations.
He said officers then identified him after hearing a plan for what they believed was a drug deal.
Sergeant Power said surveillance revealed Mr Fridemanis's car leaving the scene.
Police then swooped on a property in early January, when the two people were arrested.
The court heard items found included a piece of paper with a recipe for the drug GBL.
'It required forethought and planning'
This morning Mr Fridemanis's lawyer Travis Jackson sought bail, telling the ACT Magistrates Court it could take up to a year for the police investigation, because of delays in testing some of the drugs.
Mr Jackson also said Mr Fridemanis had strong links to Canberra, where his partner and children live, along with his father who has cancer.
But the prosecutor told the court there were concerns about reoffending and urged Magistrate Beth Campbell to take into account that the enterprise appeared to be a well established one.
"It required forethought and planning," she said.
Sergeant Power also told the court the case against Mr Fridemanis was strong.
"I do not understand how they afforded anything in life other than by selling drugs," he said.
Magistrate Beth Campbell acknowledged that the case would probably face a long delay.
She said she was concerned the allegations suggested Mr Fridemanis was what was once known as a "fence", someone who knowingly buys stolen goods in order to later resell them for profit.
She also expressed concern about Mr Fridemanis's attitude, reading a comment transcribed into court documents, from one of the phone conversations in which he told his co-accused:
"You know you gotta be quiet.
"You gotta be sneaky.
"You've gotta keep things close to your chest.
"It's the only way to get things done."
Bail was refused and the case will be back in court in March.
