The alleged leader of what police have called a 'Vietnamese cannabis army' in Newcastle has won the right to have a tracking bracelet removed, despite fears she is a flight risk.

Last month, Nga White, 44, asked for the GPS monitor to be removed because she said it was unsightly and hampering her efforts to resume her nail salon businesses.

Ms White is charged with several offences, including knowingly directing the activities of a criminal group and cultivating a commercial quantity of the prohibited drug cannabis.

She has been on bail for nearly a year, and one condition has required her to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet.

On Wednesday Ms White's lawyer, Zahir Zakaria asked Newcastle Local Court magistrate Robert Stone to delete the condition for a second time.

He said the bracelet made his client depressed and she could no longer afford the $25,000 annual fee charged by the tracking company.

"She is having difficulty financing it … I understand the DPP is opposing it, but any concerns can be significantly mitigated by other bail conditions," Mr Zakaria said.

"There is $50,000 in surety, daily reporting to police and police have seized two passports of hers."

Prosecutor alleges illegal immigrants ran drug network

Prosecutor Kylie Henry told Newcastle Local court that she opposed the bail variation.

"The crux of matter is, is that they are serious charges and it is a very strong case," Ms Henry said.

"Ms White is alleged to have been the head of a criminal organisation where Vietnamese illegal immigrants were in this country as her workers, and she clearly has access to moving workers in and out of the country.

"There are telephone intercepts, with her directing her co-accused who to go to and where to go to deliver the cannabis, and she is facing a significant custodial sentence if convicted.

An alleged grow house inside a building owned by Nga White. ( Supplied: NSW Police )

"Another thing is that the officer in charge said that there had been an issue with the monitoring … and the tamper alarm."

The court heard Ms White was in a car crash when the alarm went off, but the court was told there was no police report about a car accident.

Ms Henry said that raised additional concerns.

"In any event, the bottom line is about the seriousness of the matter and whether or not Ms White will continue to appear to meet her bail," she said.

Police facts tendered in court said Ms White had referred to her workers as her 'army' or 'crew'.

Magistrate says daily reporting negates flight risk

Newcastle Local Court Magistrate Robert Stone said it was a serious case and that was why he imposed the bracelet bail condition in the first place.

"The bracelet was imposed by me as part and parcel of the fact that it was a serious matter," Magistrate Stone said.

"She was born in another country, and although she had business interests and a child in this country, the issue is whether she turns up at court.

"The charges can carry a life term."

But the magistrate said he understood Ms White had financial concerns and thought twice daily reporting would mitigate the risks.

"Reporting once a day doesn't necessarily do anything because you can report in the morning and get on a boat in the afternoon and disappear," he said.

But he said checking in with police in the morning and evening would be sufficient.

"I can understand her financial problems, and they are very expensive, and to my mind the device could be replaced with another condition that has almost as good a result," he said.

Ms White is now required to report to police each morning and night.

The court heard the timing of when she reports could be affected by crime commission matters that are underway in Sydney.

The commission seized all of the properties owned by Ms White last year.

Ms White has several co-accused who are predominantly Vietnamese men who are alleged to have laundered money and cultivated large quantities of cannabis while living in Australia illegally.

Ms White is due back in court next month.