Ex-Rebels John Wright sentenced to community order for drug trafficking

"Make sure you don't mess this one up," Justice David Mossop said on Thursday when he sentenced John Donald George Wright.

To the visible relief of Wright's many supporters in the ACT Supreme Court's public gallery, the offender was not sentenced to any full-time jail after pleading guilty to multiple charges.

These include two counts of drug trafficking and single counts of conspiring to cultivate a traffickable quantity of cannabis plants, money laundering and possessing a prohibited weapon.

Wright, 48, was the Canberra chapter vice-president of the Rebels bikie gang when police arrested him in November 2021 during a Braddon drug bust.

He spent 10 years with the outlaw motorcycle gang and was previously its sergeant at arms.

The man, who is also known as John Winchester, was handed a jail sentence of three-and-a-half years, to be served by way of an intensive correction order in the community.

Wright, who the judge said could not be described as a "person of good character", was also ordered to pay $25,500 in fines and complete 300 hours of community service.

Justice Mossop said the offender had been a "user/dealer" of cocaine, with the court previously told Wright personally used about $400-a-day worth of the drug at the time he was arrested.

Police found several ounces of cocaine, thousands of dollars in cash, electronic scales and a large pill press during searches of homes, including Wright's, in 2021.

They also discovered a set of knuckledusters, a prohibited weapon, which Wright described as being a "novelty set".

"I couldn't even get them over my fingers they were that small," he said while giving evidence on Wednesday.

Police also found multiple cannabis plants, loose cannabis and hydroponic growing equipment linked to Wright.

Justice Mossop said it was "not possible" to order Wright to avoid association with current or former gang members, which the prosecution had not asked for.

The court heard the offender had cut ties with the Rebels, which included handing back his colours and beginning the process of covering up a leg tattoo.

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However, he is still involved in what defence barrister Steven Whybrow SC said "almost sounds like a support group for ex-bikies", the All Brothers Crew.

Wright dons a large "ABC" tattoo on his neck related to this group, which he told the court was not a gang.

He said on Wednesday he had to "watch my back" for "retribution" since leaving his former gang.

"I've been warned," Wright said.

Wright received a more lenient outcome than his cannabis conspiracy co-offender Adam Angelo Beniamini, 39, who returned to custody on Wednesday.

When sentencing Beniamini to a 14-month-and-15-day sentence, with a nine-month non-parole period, Justice Mossop said the man's criminal history was "substantial".

The judge also described his evidence as "self-serving" and "unreliable".

The court previously heard that despite Wright's former long-running gang ties, the man had a minor criminal history in the territory and had never spent any time in prison.

He was seen hugging further supporters outside the courtroom following his sentencing.

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