Accused dealer allegedly caught with smorgasbord of drugs in car refused bail

Police allegedly found a number of different types of drugs inside an alleged dealer’s car when they were called to a disturbance in southern Canberra.

Daniel Thomas Hancock, a 48-year-old scaffolder from Isabella Plains, has been charged with three counts of drug trafficking and one count of trafficking cannabis over the allegations.

Police were called to Benstead Place in Gordon on the afternoon of 12 April 2024 after hearing a vehicle had allegedly rammed another, resulting in damage, court documents say.

The officers arrived to find Hancock and his car at the scene. In the documents, police say that while there, a person alleged to them that Hancock was using his car to “run drugs”, which were in his vehicle at the time.

“[They] further disclosed that the defendant was a drug dealer who travels around dropping off drugs,” police allege in the documents.

While the officers were talking to Hancock, he said he planned to leave the ACT to drive to the NSW South Coast. He also ordered a tow truck to remove his car from the location, which arrived as he spoke to the officers.

Police searched his car, allegedly finding what is suspected of being 80 grams of heroin, 18 grams of methamphetamine, 200 grams of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and 500 grams of marijuana, along with clip-seal bags and smoking implements.

Hancock was arrested and spent two months in custody before he applied for bail in the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday (13 June).

His defence lawyer from Legal Aid said there was quite possibly a significant link between a recent decline in mental health and the allegations that brought him into custody and she argued that his mental health would be better supported by being in the community.

She said his main risk factors included his alcohol and drug use, but he had been accepted into a residential rehabilitation facility in NSW.

The lawyer also said her client had entered not guilty pleas and the charges were disputed.

Prosecutor Ilsa Hattam, who opposed bail on the alleged likelihood of reoffending, said the case involved “extremely serious allegations” and he had allegedly been found with a substantial amount of drugs.

Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker said the matters before the court were serious, and she thought the prosecution had a reasonably strong case.

She was not satisfied bail conditions could address the likelihood of further alleged offending and she refused bail.

The matter was adjourned to 24 June.