A TENTH person has been denied bail on gun charges as the huge Tamworth 'ice castle' investigation, as its been dubbed, continues to unfold.
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Neil Edward Cook fronted Tamworth Local Court on Friday afternoon on eight gun allegations including two counts of supplying pistols to persons unauthorised to possess it.
The 61-year-old faces up to 20 years imprisonment if found guilty of the offences, including possessing unauthorised pistols, and supplying and possessing unregistered firearms.
He was arrested on Friday morning by Strike Force Radius detectives and the Oxley Target Action Group (TAG) but was refused bail by magistrate Julie Soars.
On Friday morning, Andrew Thomas Woodbury was granted bail in the same court on drug supply charges but did not enter pleas.
The 30-year-old had spent the night in custody after his arrest on Thursday and was handcuffed and flanked by four policemen for his bail application.
The court heard "he was present at those premises" where Stephen Hanshaw, a co-accused, resides. The Petra Avenue unit is where police allege the majority of the ice was being supplied.
"So there are two transactions, one valued it is said to be at $180, and one at $120," Ms Soars said, examining the police facts.
The court heard Woodbury had been in custody for an unrelated matter but had been released back into the community in April. He was on parole at the time of the alleged offences in Tamworth in September.
Solicitor Marcus Dyason said "these allegations predate the ICO [intensive corrections order] Mr Woodbury is currently subject to".
Mr Dyason said Woodbury has "made a concerted effort" to engage in rehabilitative measures since his release and "given the efforts that he has made" he was not an unacceptable risk.
Sergeant Matt Pawsey opposed bail and said Woodbury was an unacceptable risk of further offences by "virtue of the fact he was on parole" at the time of the allegations and this "shows his non-compliance with court orders".
Sergeant Pawsey said despite the "relatively small quantities in terms of this strike force", it was a serious allegation and he was now subject to an ICO which shows "repetition of further serious offences".
Ms Soars found Woodbury's "been in the community under a very strict supervisory ICO" and "so far, so good", she said, granting conditional bail to live in South Tamworth, under a curfew and order that he must abstain from drugs and alcohol.
Breanna Chillingworth
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
