A baby-faced teenager will spend the next two weeks behind bars on remand after he was embroiled in Operation Ironside, a historic global sting to bring down alleged underworld figures.
Apostle Broikos, 18, was arrested late last week as part of the joint AFP and FBI investigation, which resulted in the arrest of more than 250 Australians.
Mr Broikos appeared at Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday, where he was refused bail, despite his lawyer arguing he was too young to stay in adult jail.
Mr Broikos is charged with manufacturing and trafficking a controlled drug as well as trafficking in a large commercial quantity of a controlled drug.
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He is the youngest South Australian to be arrested as part of Operation Ironside and one of the youngest in the country.
Mr Broikos is accused of trafficking a large commercial quantity of a controlled drug in Yamba, in the Riverland region of South Australia, just west of the Victoria-SA 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 $1 million, if found guilty of the charges.
Mr 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 Adelaide Magistrates Court on July 1, where his lawyer is hoping to get bail for the young 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 Ironside.
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.
South Australia Police conducted sweeping raids last week as part of its long-term covert investigation into serious organised crime.
Police arrested 95 people, seized 90kg of meth — with a street value of $45 million, seized 350kg of cannabis, 10,000 ecstasy pills, 30 firearms and destroyed three industrial drug labs.
“This complex, long standing investigation has struck a blow to the foundations of organised crime in South Australia,” Assistant Commissioner Harvey said last week.
“We anticipate that the void in criminal hierarchy and control will be quickly filled.
“It is however, just as important to understand that SAPOL and all other enforcement agencies law and partners, are also ready to continue the fight and keep the community safe.”