A Mandurah outlaw motorcycle club president will spend at least the next five years in jail after pleading guilty to possessing about $60,000 of unlawfully obtained cash and 380 grams of methylamphetamine with intent to sell or supply.
Grantito Eduard Chacone, 36, pleaded guilty to the charges when he appeared in the Mandurah Magistrates Court in September.
The cash and methylamphetamine was found after Gang Crime Squad raided Chacone’s Halls Head home on August 22, 2018.
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The Mongrel Mob national president was sentenced to seven years and eight months’ jail when he appeared in the Perth District Court on Friday, which was backdated to August 2018, taking into account time spent in custody.
After being made eligible for parole, Chacone’s earliest release date is April 2024.
On Friday, District Court Judge Patrick O’Neal told the court Chacone looked like a “model citizen” with his extensive work history, community involvement and love for his family.
He said Chacone had worked as a mining manager and had never tried amphetamine.
In letters from friends and family to the court, Chacone was described as a hard-working member of the community who had volunteered as a rugby and soccer coach.
Mr O’Neal said it was as if Chacone was leading a double life after some personal references described his behaviour as “out of character” or a “one-off”.
He said Chacone had a disadvantaged childhood and faced conditions “no child should have to experience” including witnessing drug and alcohol abuse.
Mr O’Neal said methylamphetamine was a “serious” problem clogging the courts, and Chacone was aware of the effects the drug had on the community.
He said Chacone’s encrypted BlackBerry mobile seized by police had contained accounting records listing the Mongrel Mob’s profits from drug trafficking.
Chacone’s lawyer Trent Petherick had told the Mandurah Magistrates Court last year his client had no psychiatric issues.
Serious and Organised Crime Unit Detective Inspector Mark Twamley told the Mandurah Mail in October 2018, that a number of weapon and drug search warrants had been executed in the Peel region following friction between the Comancheros and the Rebels.
Carla Hildebrandt
Journalist at the Mandurah Mail
Journalist at the Mandurah Mail
