Former Rebels bikie boss jailed over $400,000 in dirty cash wrapped as Christmas gifts

Former Rebels supremo Karl Labrook will have to serve at least seven months behind bars after being jailed over the discovery of more than $400,000 in cash disguised as Christmas gifts.

Labrook fought charges of possessing illegally obtained property after his dramatic arrest in the days before Christmas 2022, which also scooped a member of the fabled Kersley racing clan.

Kellie Kersley was close with Labrook’s then-partner.

After the targeted operation, police also found they were close in other ways — with more than $200,000 in cash found on the back seat of Labrook’s car and a bigger amount found in Kersley’s house.

Both were wrapped in the same Christmas paper.

After Kersley was convicted, and despite a minimal criminal record, she was jailed for a year, serving six months.

On Tuesday, because of Labrook’s more colourful criminal past including a four-year stint for attempting to deal meth, he was jailed for 14 months.

Taking parole into account, he will have to serve at least seven months before he can be released.

Labrook’s sentence had been delayed so that he could attend the birth of his child.

Magistrate Andrew Matthews said that he hoped it had benefitted Labrook, who was taken into custody wearing a black suit and bright yellow tie

The Nightl revealed that the colours, which were also sported on his last trip to court, were a not-so-subtle signal that the former Rebels kingpin was joining the Comanchero bikie gang.

It was not mentioned in court — but his split with the Rebels was.

That audacious move was triggered by a perceived lack of support from Sydney, for the Rebels’ WA chapters during the gang’s recent tit-for-tat war with the Mongols. Labrook quit the club he joined 25 years ago after his integrity was questioned by national president Damien Vella, according to police sources. It is understood the dispute with the Rebels’ east coast hierarchy was the last straw for Labrook, who had been appalled by the lack of support given to members who were jailed during a recent war with the Mongols gang.

Also raised in court was Labrook’s serious heart condition, which his lawyer Christian Porter said meant a strict regime of medication in prison.

Mr Matthews noted a medical report citing previous drug use as a possible cause of his heart condition.

Labrook insisted “that was 20 years ago”, claiming that he had recently lost 14kg.

He was initially charged with possessing stolen or unlawfully obtained property after police pulled over his BMW in Ridgewood on the afternoon of December 28, 2022, finding $207,850 on the back seat in a box wrapped in Christmas paper.

They also charged him over $247,700 found at the Ascot house of his co-accused Kersley after she was stopped while driving in Belmont hours later.

Both seizures were bundles of cash in vacuum-sealed plastic bags in Pelican-type cases, totalling $455,550.

The prosecution argued that Labrook had knowledge and control of all of the cash, and the manner of storage and packaging.

But the 54-year-old testified that the money was club funds from legitimately collected sources, being saved for a High Court challenge against WA’s tough bikie laws.

These include the sale of motorbikes, alcohol at parties and clubhouse bars, and sausage sizzle fundraisers.

A big chunk was club membership fees, which had been raised from $75 per week to $100 per week to build a warchest to fight tough anti-bikie laws in the High Court.

During the trial, Labrook dropped a major bombshell - claiming ex-State president Nick Martin was suspected of stealing club money to pay for extravagant home upgrades, which caused disquiet among the Rebels.

He claimed that the Rockingham City chapter left the club “because of all this drama” and became the Mongols, and Martin was asked to step down as State president weeks before he was assassinated in a sniper-style attack at Perth Motorplex in December 2020.

Labrook testified that Martin’s bank had closed his accounts “so he wanted everyone to start paying cash”. He also said he had moved to improve transparency with the club’s financial affairs.

“Whenever there was a sum of $10,000-20,000 ... we’d count it up, verify it, seal it,” he told the court.

“We didn’t have bank accounts so it went into the safe at home.”

But when personal problems emerged in his family — with his partner suffering post-natal depression and threatening to set the cash alight — it was stored elsewhere to keep it safe.

Cash was then passed to Ms Kersley, racing identity who was a trusted family friend.

And when the treasurer needed $100,000-$200,000 to pay legal fees, Mr Labrook asked Ms Kersley to bring some to a meeting at Casa Blanca restaurant in Mount Hawthorn.

The pair were pulled over by police a short time later.