Watch: Australian Police take down mafia, Comancheros in early morning raids and seize millions in cars, drugs and cash. Video / AFP
A baby-faced Australian teenager will spend the next two weeks behind bars on remand after he was embroiled in a historic global sting to bring down alleged underworld figures.
Apostle Broikos, 18, was arrested late last week as part of Operation Ironside, the Australian component of a global policeoperation dubbed Operation Trojan Shield. Ironside resulted in the arrest of more than 250 Australians.
Apostle Broikos. Photo / Supplied via News Limited Network
Broikos appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday, where he was refused bail, despite his lawyer arguing he was too young to stay in an adult jail.
Broikos is charged with manufacturing and trafficking a controlled drug, as well as trafficking in a large commercial quantity of a controlled drug.
The gun found in a Rostrevor park. Photo / SA Police
He is the youngest South Australian to be arrested as part of Operation Ironside and one of the youngest in the country.
Broikos is charged with trafficking a commercial quantity of a controlled drug in Yamba, in the Riverland region of South Australia, just west of the Victoria-South Australia border.
His co-accused on that charge is his uncle, Theodore Tasman Broikos, Comanchero bikie boss Cain Robert Dalwood and alleged bikie member Mark James Press.
The teen is also accused of manufacturing and trafficking a controlled drug between January and August last year.
He is facing life in prison, or a fine of A$1 million, if found guilty of the charges.
Broikos graduated from one of Adelaide's top private schools, St Ignatius College, in 2020.
Photos on St Ignatius' social media pages show the teenager representing the school in various sporting teams.
He will appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on July 1, where his lawyer is hoping to get bail for the teenager.
Dalwood and Press are also charged with conspiracy to commit murder after police uncovered an alleged assassination plot involving a machine gun.
Police allege the pair were involved in a hit against an associate at a popular Adelaide cafe strip last November.
Police will allege the plan was discovered through the police-made AN0M app, which formed the basis of Operation Trojan Shield.
South Australia Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Harvey said they would allege the men had planned to lure the man to a cafe on The Parade, a very popular and busy strip in the inner city suburb of Norwood.
Shortly after police disrupted the alleged plan, a fully loaded machine gun was found hidden in bushland in nearby Rostrevor.
In New Zealand, 35 people were arrested, more than 900 charges laid and $3.7 million in assets seized as part of Operation Trojan Shield.
