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A Canberra man accused of importing drugs through a series of post office boxes has been granted bail. Prosecution opposed bail for Emin Yavuz when he appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday charged with 27 offences. The 24-year-old was arrested after Customs seized a package of 50 grams of amphetamine, which had been sent to a Canberra post office box last year. Authorities replaced the drugs with an inert substance, and allowed Yavuz to pick it up. Police then raided Yavuz’s home, where they allegedly found a list of 11 tracking numbers, fake licences, and keys to post office boxes across the city. He was arrested in December and charged with drug offences, as investigations into the extent of his alleged drug importation continued. Authorities then allegedly seized more packages destined to other post office boxes, and attempted to track other consignment numbers for deliveries coming from The Netherlands and China. Following a series of court appearances, Yavuz has been charged with a total of 27 counts of importing a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug, on a series of dates between September 10 and December 20. He is accused of importing cocaine, MDMA, and another drug. Commonwealth prosecutor Katrina Musgrove told the ACT Magistrates Court that Yavuz was a risk of fleeing the capital as he didn’t have full time employment and faced serious charges, including 22 charges that each held a maximum sentence of 25 years imprisonment. “There is a very, very real likelihood of the defendant not answering his bail,” she said. However Yavuz’s barrister Ken Archer said his client had strong ties to the Canberra community, where he and his family have lived since 2003. He said Yavuz had also appeared before court of his own volition several times since being charged in December. “The scope of the possible allegations… were squarely before the court on December 19,” he said. “If he was at risk of flight, he had his opportunity then.” Magistrate Peter Dingwall granted Yavuz bail with a number of conditions, including that he reports to police daily, surrenders his passport and stays within the ACT. No pleas have been entered in the case, which will come back before Magistrate Beth Campbell in March.

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