A man arrested in a police raid at Kangaroo Flat on Monday was bailed in the Bendigo Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.
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Ray Dillon, 33, who had been remanded following the bust, has been charged with possessing cannabis, handling stolen goods, dealing with property suspected to be the proceeds of crime and possessing "identification information" related to false ID cards.
Dillon's co-accused is his 23-year-old wife, whose case is due to be heard in September.
She has been charged with possessing cannabis, possessing amphetamine, handling stolen goods and dealing with property suspected to be the proceeds of crime.
She was in court on Tuesday, communicating by mime with her husband, who sat in the glass remand area between two security officers during his hearing.
The court heard that when two search warrants were executed at the couple's Olympic Parade premises police located various ziplock bags alleged to contain different quantities of cannabis totalling around 44 grams.
They also found 1.79 grams of a crystal substance believed to be methylamphetamine, 0.84 grams of a powder believed to be cocaine, prescription drugs, various false drivers licences, Visa and Medicare cards and a total of $6,600 in cash.
Multiple deal bags and scales were also allegedly found in the couple's bedroom.
Police told the court that Dillon had refused to provide the PIN code to a green iPhone 12 taken in the bust and that he recorded a "no comment" interview with them.
The police prosecutor opposed his bail application, arguing he had been charged with an indictable offence while serving a community corrections order for another indictable offence, and had a history of serious drug offending, including trafficking, dating back to 2008.
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He and his co-accused had openly admitted to heavy drug use, the prosecutor said.
Police also believed there was an unacceptable risk of him creating an alternative identity and fleeing the state.
However, lawyer Gabrielle Nota argued her client was in a stable situation and was supported by family.
He and his wife were paying a mortgage on the Kangaroo Flat premises they lived in, which they bought in February this year, she said.
Dillon was working full time cutting firewood and, as described in a letter tendered to the court, his employer wanted to continue to employ him despite his legal difficulties due to his strong work ethic and positive attitude.
Furthermore his wife was 18 weeks pregnant with the couple's first child.
Ms Nota said the $6,600 in cash police found at their premises was made up of gifts from friends at a recent "gender reveal" party for the baby as well as cash payments from Dillon's work.
Her client was also very focused on restoring the relationship with the elder of his two daughters from a previous relationship who he was sharing 50-50 custody of.
"This time in remand has been a big wakeup call for him," his lawyer said.
During the course of the hearing Dillon raised his hand several times to attract Magistrate Megan Aumair's attention, and towards the end of the hearing was given the chance to address the court.
"When the police came I was no risk whatsoever. I opened every safe," he told the magistrate.
It was untrue that he had refused to give police the iPhone's PIN code, Dillon said.
Dillon admitted to to using cannabis as a desirable alternative to meth and said any drugs on the premises other than marijuana had "nothing to do with [him]".
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Since being released from jail he had done everything he could to better himself as a person, he said.
Magistrate Aumair told the accused his criminal history made the situation "very serious" for him and the prosecution case "look[ed] pretty strong".
Nevertheless, given he had a community corrections order in place and strong family support, she would give him an opportunity to do the things he said he wanted to do.
The magistrate released Dillon on bail with conditions, including that he reside at his current address and not use drugs of dependence.
He was ordered to reappear before the magistrate again later this week to further discuss "what is to be done" in his case with Corrections Victoria.
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