A man facing a possible life sentence for attempting to possess 40 kilograms of cocaine that was smuggled into Queensland has been granted bail on a $200,000 surety.
Marko Maksimovic, 29, was one of five men arrested last month after federal police tracked 100 kilograms of the drug from the yacht Solay, which came from South America via Vanuatu and docked at Coomera in August.
Maksimovic was observed meeting with his co-accused at the marina throughout the morning and later met them at the Coomera Roadhouse cafe, where police found 40 kilograms of the drug in a Toyota Echo.
Despite facing a potential life sentence for attempting to possess a commercial quantity of cocaine, Maksimovic's lawyer argued there was no evidence that he was attempting to possess all of it and that he might have been at the cafe for an innocent purpose.
Supreme Court Judge Peter Flanagan was concerned Maksimovic was a flight risk.
"He has clear connections to Serbia. He travels to Serbia often," he told the court on Wednesday.
"On the crown case he lied to police about where he was staying."
Maksimovic's mother and stepfather had jointly offered a surety of $200,000 to secure his release.
"Having read the affidavits of both those persons, it is clear that the imposition of a surety of $200,000 constitutes a real financial burden on them," Judge Flanagan said.
But that alone was insufficient to deter him from failing to appear, he warned.
Maksimovic was granted bail on the conditions that he surrender both his Australian and Serbian passports, report to police on a daily basis and adheres to a 6pm-6am curfew.
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