Olympian’s brother ‘tricked’ over coke plot, court told

“These letters are exculpatory of Mr Baggaley. All a jury has to find is that the contents of letters could reasonably be possibly true,” Holt said.

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Justice Melanie Hindman told Holt she would have to be convinced Baggaley was not a flight risk or that he would reoffend.

Crown prosecutor Patrick Wilson said Baggaley posed a heightened risk while on bail as he had been accused of possessing a variety of drugs and a mobile phone in custody.

Holt said Baggaley had been charged only last week over alleged offences in January and he had yet to see a brief of evidence and assess the strength of that case.

Justice Hindman said she was also concerned Baggaley had proposed to live while on bail in northern NSW near where he had previously committed other offences.

“He has a criminal history, not like (attempted drug importation) but very serious drug-related offending including manufacture,” she said.

Holt said Baggaley could wear a GPS bracelet, his family had offered a $500,000 surety for bail and that the chance of him fleeing the country was low.

Justice Hindman said Baggaley probably faced another decade behind bars if found guilty at retrial but his chance of getting bail “wasn’t hopeless”.

“He’d have to be high up in the cartel for them to collect him and take him to Colombia,” she said.