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He appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday, where he was released on strict bail and a $10,000 bond.
He will be allowed to move freely in the community between 5am and 10pm but will not be allowed to associate with regular members, potential or nominated outlaw motorcycle gangs.
He will also be banned from owning more than one mobile phone and will be required to provide his number and PIN to Victoria Police on request.
Acting Homicide Sergeant Thomas Askiak opposed Tangata’Olakepa’s bail application, arguing the New Zealand national could flee Australia if released.
He told the court that Tangata’Olakepa had connections with high-ranking Comanchero members who were suspected of organizing the illegal removal of people from Australia by boat.
Magistrate Simon Zebrowski said the prosecution had a strong case against Tangata’Olakepa, telling the court: “I’m not saying it’s a slam dunk, but it’s not a weak case.”
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However, he said there was no evidence he would breach his bail conditions.
“You would be quite foolish to go out and not abide by these conditions,” he told the court.
Rasimi, a known underworld figure, was sprayed with bullets as he drove past his Dandenong home over an alleged $216,000 debt his brother owed an investor in a botched property deal run by Comanchero members.
The court heard that Rasimi met slain underworld boss Nabil Magni and members of the biker gang several times in the run-up to his death and refused to return the money, telling them to “F— off”. Once he appeared at a meeting with 50 of his like-minded people and denied that he was in debt.
Hours before he was shot dead, Rasimi had attended a meeting at a coffee shop attended by members of the Albanian community in Dandenong.
His alleged killers chased him for days in a stolen orange Ford Ranger, which they later tried to set on fire in Bangholm.
Comanchero president Mick Murray was arrested at his home in Listerfield in the south in April and charged with Rasimi’s murder.
Two other men, Layseni Kakato and Richard Ene, are also charged with murder. They will both be tried in the Supreme Court next year.
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