Shane Revell, from Broadmeadows, had been living in a caravan in Canadian for about two weeks when he was arrested on Tuesday morning as part of a raid on the Spencer Street house.

Revell had been living in the allegedly stolen caravan in the backyard of a property where his 23-year-old sister, Michelle, and her 36-year-old boyfriend, Grant Smith, had been living.

Applying for bail in the Ballarat Magistrates Court yesterday, defence lawyer Natalie Purcell said it would be unfair for her client to be locked up while the exact details of the prosecution case were sorted.

All three people who were at the Spencer Street house on Tuesday morning are facing similar charges after police found more than $400,000 in stolen vehicles, a sawn-off shotgun and drugs that included ice and GHB.

The keys to most of the stolen cars, the drugs and the gun were all found in the master bedroom of the house, while 13 cannabis plants were found in a rear shed, which Revell admitted to owning.

He is facing 40 charges, Smith faces 56 charges and his sister is on 39 charges.

All three gave a “no comment” interview to police when arrested.

“He is someone that clearly came to visit the house for a couple of weeks. 

“It’s a fairly brief amount of time he has been living at the home, especially compared to the co-accused,” Ms Purcell said.

“The weakness of the police case is very significant. It could take a significant amount of time to unravel this case.”

The court heard Revell, who was already on bail when arrested, had been spending the Christmas and New Year period in Ballarat after a falling out with his father in Melbourne.

Revell’s father appeared in court yesterday, swearing he would  phone police if his son breached bail conditions.

Magistrate Michelle Hodgson said she was uncomfortable releasing Revell back into the community without a credit bail report.

She remanded him in custody over the weekend, with a final decision on his bail to be made on Tuesday.