Updated

January 10, 2018 17:02:32

Two men charged with drug trafficking, and who have links to outlaw motorcycle gangs, had been staying at a Port Melbourne home owned by former AFL coach Mark Thompson, the ABC understands.

A 31-year-old man from Lara, near Geelong, and a 28-year-old Port Melbourne man were remanded in custody after being charged with drug trafficking on Tuesday.

The ABC understands those men were Karl Holt, who has connections to the Bandidos bikie gang, and Thomas Windsor, who is affiliated with the Rebels bikie gang.

Neither of them are patched members.

It is understood the pair had been staying at a Port Melbourne property owned by Thompson, which was raided by police last Friday.

Thompson was arrested and went to a police station to be questioned by appointment on Tuesday, but was released without charge.

A 22-year-old Mill Park woman was also arrested and charged with drug trafficking in connection with the investigation.

All three will return to court at a later date.

Thompson, a two-time Essendon premiership player and former captain, was an assistant at the Bombers under James Hird at the time of the disastrous supplements program.

The AFL fined him $30,000 for his part in the saga, but Thompson took over the senior role at Essendon for one season in 2014 while Hird served a 12-month suspension.

From 2000-2010 Thompson was the senior coach at Geelong, winning two premierships in a dominant era for the Cats.

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First posted

January 10, 2018 11:13:09

AFL legend Mark ‘Bomber’ Thompson has been arrested as part of an investigation into drug trafficking, but the premiership coach has been released without charge.

In a short statement issued on Tuesday afternoon, police confirmed a 54-year-old from Port Melbourne was arrested and released earlier that day, “pending further enquiries”.

Thompson’s Port Melbourne renovated warehouse was raided at 9.30am last Friday.

It can be revealed that two men allegedly involved in the drug trafficking operation that resulted in a police raid at Thompson’s home have links to outlaw bikie gangs.

Karl “Bang Bang” Holt and Thomas Windsor were charged with trafficking a drug of dependence, after raids in Geelong and Port Melbourne.

Mr Holt – who purports to drive a black Mercedes-Benz sedan with the numberplate NOBA1L – and Mr Windsor both have links to bikies in the Geelong region, sources say.

The pair are heavily tattooed, with Mr Holt having a picture of a gun and the words “bang bang”, his nickname, tattooed on his hands.

Mr Holt, 31, from Lara, and Mr Windsor, 28, from Port Melbourne, were both remanded in custody.

A 22-year-old woman from Mill Park was also charged with trafficking a drug of dependence.

It is understood the charges related to various substances. They have been remanded to face Geelong Magistrates’ Court at later dates.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman confirmed three people had been charged, and had been remanded in custody.

“No further arrests have been made and, as the investigation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this stage,” she said.

It is not clear how Thompson is allegedly connected to the investigation.

The police involved in the search at Thompson’s home were from the Southern Metro and Geelong divisional response units, who are broadly tasked to investigate property crime and illegal drug activity.

When contacted on Saturday, Mr Thompson denied his home had been raided, but footage of police executing a warrant on the Rouse Street property, taken from a neighbouring home, emerged on Monday.

Their cries of “Police! Don’t move. Police! Don’t move” are clearly heard in the footage.

Thompson, 54, led the Cats to premierships in 2007 and 2009 but quit the club in 2010 to join Essendon, the club he had once captained, as a senior assistant to James Hird.

He became embroiled in the supplements saga which led to 34 past and present Essendon players being suspended for the 2016 season.

Thompson was fined $30,000 for his role in the scandal, one which had seen him replace a suspended Hird as coach in 2014 but later lose any interest in the sport.

He revealed last year the saga had made him “bitter and twisted” and contributed to the breakdown of his marriage.