Australia, Sept. 6 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on Aug. 5:

1. On Friday, 1 August 2025 there were listed before the Court two applications under the Bail Act 2013 (NSW) concerning a grant of bail that was made in favour of Kalid Kaddour by Weinstein J on 25 February 2025.

2. One of the conditions imposed by his Honour was that Mr Kaddour should be under home detention, not to leave his approved residence except in the company of one of three nominated persons, or to report to police, or to attend upon his legal representatives, or attend court, or to obtain medical treatment. One of the applications before this Court on 1 August 2025 was brought by Mr Kaddour seeking the addition of another person in whose company he might leave his approved residence.

3. A second condition of Weinstein J's grant of bail on 25 February 2025 was that, at his own expense, Mr Kaddour should be fitted with an electronic monitoring device that he would keep operational and that would be monitored by a surveillance company. That condition is imminently to be removed by force of a new s 30A of the Bail Act that was inserted with effect from 11 June 2025 and by force of associated transitional provisions. It is submitted by the Crown that the electronic monitoring condition was a "core" basis for Weinstein J's grant of bail on 25 February 2025 and that, with its statutory removal, Mr Kaddour's liberty on bail can no longer be justified.

4. At the conclusion of the hearing on 1 August 2025 I revoked bail and ordered that Mr Kaddour be remanded in custody, next to appear before Penrith Local Court on 8 August 2025. These are the Court's reasons for that decision. In consequence of those orders it became unnecessary to consider Mr Kaddour's application for variation of his house arrest condition.

The charges and Mr Kaddour's several bail applications

5. The most serious offence with which is charged is that on 6 March 2024 he supplied not less than the large commercial quantity of MDMA, specifically 30 kgs. Police allege that his co-accused, Matthew Rymer, handed over that quantity of drugs to an undercover operative in a transaction that was completed at Cranbrook. It is alleged that the supply was made in furtherance of a joint criminal enterprise between Mr Kaddour and Rymer, who it is said were also jointly operating a clandestine laboratory within a large shed at Cranebrook, in which the drug was manufactured. Sequence 3 is that between 25 February 2024 and 6 March 2024 Mr Kaddour manufactured 5.895 kgs of the same drug, being not less than the commercial quantity. Upon execution of a search warrant in the laboratory on 6 March 2024, that quantity of the drug, apparently recently manufactured, was found in a plastic bucket standing upon a set of scales. Sequence 1 is a charge of possession on 6 March 2024 of $11,300 in proceeds of crime. There are further charges of possession on 6 March 2024 of precursors for MDMA manufacture; importation between 1 June 2022 and 30 September 2023 of a commercial quantity of border controlled precursors and participation in a criminal group.

6. Mr Kaddour was arrested on the above charges on 6 March 2024. Bail was refused in the Local Court. He applied to this Court for bail. That was refused by Dhanji J on 9 May 2024. Mr Kaddour made a further application on the basis of a change of circumstances under s 74 of the Bail Act. That was refused by Garling J on 12 July 2024. The application heard by Weinstein J on 25 February 2025 was Mr Kaddour's third to this Court. Weinstein J was persuaded that a material change of circumstances had taken place and therefore heard the application on its merits. The change that his Honour considered material arose in the following circumstances.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/19878f4870ece7729f3619a6)

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