Accused Hamilton drug dealer refused bail

Jason Ford, 44, of Hamilton, appeared in Warrnambool Magistrates Court on Friday where he was refused bail.

The court heard Mr Ford was arrested at Hamilton's Grand Central Hotel on October 18 last year after he was allegedly found in possession of numerous bags of methamphetamine weighing a total of 3.8 grams, and a set of digital scales.

Text messages on his mobile phone allegedly indicated he was involved in the sale of the drug.

He was charged with trafficking methamphetamine and released on bail.

The court heard police later obtained a search warrant for the man's Westpac Bank account.

That allegedly discovered Mr Ford had $222,903 deposited into his bank account over a seven-month period last year.

Hamilton police Detective Sergeant Mark James said the accused man received unemployment benefits and that only about $9000 of the funds deposited into his account were considered "legitimate income".

He alleged the bank statements showed money being transferred in and out to known drug users and dealers in the Portland and Hamilton areas.

He said those amounts ranged from $100 and $16,000.

The court heard Mr Ford was charged with dealing with the proceeds of crime, which has a much higher standard of proof than dealing with property suspected of being proceeds of crime.

During a bail application on Friday, Detective Sergeant James said the man had 43 pages of criminal history and was an unacceptable risk of reoffending.

He said Mr Ford was released from custody in August last year after serving a period of imprisonment, and alleged he immediately started selling drugs.

"He is accused of drug trafficking to a large amount of vulnerable people who are addicted to drugs," he said.

"If that behaviour was to continue, it would endanger the safety and welfare of those people and create more difficulties in their lives."

Angus Cameron, representing Mr Ford, said the police case was weak and that his client planned to contest the charges at a trial that might not be heard until 2024.

"It is absurd to keep someone on remand for that amount of time for such spurious charges," he said.

But prosecutor Hazel Whalley said witness statements were outstanding and a thorough investigation was ongoing.

"There remains a substantial amount of inquiries in relation to a large number of people who would be residing close to where he wants to be bailed," she said.

She said the proposed bail address was unsuitable, given children resided there and there were no available bedrooms, meaning Mr Ford would sleep in the dining room.

Mr Ford was refused bail and will appear in court again in May for a half-day committal hearing.

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