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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
National

Bail decision reserved for brother of NRL star charged with trafficking ice

Maitland courthouse. File picture

A magistrate is considering whether to grant two men - one the brother of Brisbane Broncos star Payne Haas - bail after they were charged with allegedly trafficking methamphetamine through the Hunter on Tuesday.

Zeda Haas, 20, and Kaharau Beer, 19, both applied for conditional release in Maitland Local Court on Wednesday afternoon.

Each man is facing one count of trafficking a commercial quantity of a controlled drug, and taking part in the supply of a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug.

Court documents show Mr Beer has been charged with knowingly supplying 4.05kg of ice, while Mr Haas' count relates to 1.8kg of the drug.

The men were arrested when police stopped a ute on Apprentice Close at Beresfield at 11.45am on Tuesday.

Police allege officers found 1.8kg of a substance believed to be methamphetamine - with an estimated street value of $1 million - in the vehicle.

Magistrate Ron Maiden left the bail applications part-heard on Wednesday afternoon and said he would deliver his decision on Friday.

The court heard that Mr Beer and Mr Haas drove from Queensland to collect a parcel in Sydney, which contained a substance substituted for drugs that was under police surveillance.

Mr Beer gave his name as "Ivan" at the pick-up point, the court heard.

Barrister for the men Peter Lange said the case against Mr Haas was "weak" and that there was no evidence the 20-year-old knew what was in the package.

Mr Lange said he conceded the case against Mr Beer was stronger, given that he allegedly told police he had picked up a package for work, but Mr Lange said questions remained over Mr Beer's "state of knowledge" of what was in the package.

The prosecution argued against bail, saying there could be a jurisdictional issue if they returned to Queensland. The court heard that both men appeared to be Queensland residents, despite also giving NSW addresses.

Facing these charges, Mr Haas and Mr Beer are required to "show cause" as to why they should not be held in custody.

Police will allege Tuesday's arrests at Beresfield are linked to Australian Border Force officers earlier this month seizing two parcels from the USA - one containing 1.8kg and the other 2.2kg of ice, believed to have a street value of $3.5 million.

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