Ilias Gotsis, 59, Christos Koukouvitakis, 47, John Jim Pipikos, 25, Peter Tahtsis, 47, and Shaun Timothy Wilkshire, 28, were part of a group of seven men arrested in late February.

A pre-dawn raid on the property 'Heatherbrae' in the Balladoran area uncovered a crop of about 4000 cannabis plants. The plants ranged in size from 1.5m to 2m in height and were described as "very healthy".

Earlier this week the men appeared in Dubbo Local Court via audio-visual link (AVL) to make their applications, with a succession of family members and friends taking the witness stand for the defendants, with almost all offering up their homes as surety - some worth up to $400,000.

During a sometimes dramatic day in court, the wives of three of the defendants took the witness stand.

Judith Koukouvitakis made an emotional plea for her husband's freedom.

"We've been together for 30 years," she said. "One of our daughters has anorexia and bulimia, she is a manic depressive and since her dad has been in custody her weight has halved - she cannot cope. Christos is the only breadwinner for our family ... I thought he had gone fruit picking."

Wiping away tears, Mrs Koukouvitakis offered the family home as surety for bail.

Peter Tahtsis' wife also took the witness stand but was barely sworn in before she began shaking and crying. Supported by friends, family and court staff, she collapsed outside the courtroom and said: "I can't cope with it any more."

Defence counsel for the men said the defendants were not "drug czars".

"They haven't done well out of this operation," counsel said. "They are a bunch of battlers - these are very serious charges but I think it is important to draw a distinction between workers and those who get the profits."

Director of Public Prosecutions representative Steve Monaro told the court the case against the men was a strong one: "Perhaps some of them were cultivating the crop, perhaps some were doing the laundry but they were in it together."

However Magistrate Paul MacMahon said he believed there was "little likelihood" of the men committing any further offences while on bail and noted they did not have the funds to leave the jurisdiction.

Defendants, Marios Georgas, 43, and Vasilios Rasimoglou, 46, did not apply for bail. The matters were adjourned to Sydney's Central Local Court on April 15.