Shahram Kamali conveyed instructions to cook meth at $18m Morphett Vale drug lab, court told

He came to Australia to inspect granite – weeks later he was arrested in his underwear passing on instructions to cook meth in one of SA’s biggest drug labs, a court heard.

A man who came to Australia to inspect granite instead found himself delivering instructions on how to cook methylamphetamine in one of the state’s biggest drug labs, a court has heard.

Shahram Kamali, 43, flew from the US to Sydney on September 11, 2018, and less than a month later, on October 7, 2018, was arrested in his underwear at a Morphett Vale drug lab.

During a pre-sentencing hearing in the District Court on Tuesday, the court heard Kamali’s role in the $18m manufacture was as a “conduit of information”.

“That is providing information as to the equipment required and also the steps to be taken in order to complete the manufacture (of methylamphetamine),” Keryn Park, prosecuting, said.

She said Kamali must serve a custodial sentence for his offending.

Kamali pleaded guilty to a charge of manufacturing a large commercial quantity of a controlled drug.

Drug and organised crime task force detectives examine a meth lab found in Morphett Vale in August last year. Picture: Tait Schmaal.

Ms Park said the drug lab was Kamali’s “sole purpose” for travelling to Australia and he was “solely motivated by financial reward”.

Defence lawyer Ben Armstrong, for Kamali, told the court his client was asked to come to Australia by a friend in the construction industry to “inspect some granite that’s used in flooring”.

He said Kamali had previously travelled to Australia to do similar work for the man.

But this time, he was asked to meet two other men who had a gun. He then contacted his friend and was convinced to come to Adelaide.

“Ultimately this man promised to pay my client between $10,000 and $15,000 upon his return to America if my client travelled to Adelaide and effectively did what he was told,” Mr Armstrong said.

The drug lab inside the residential property at Morphett Valee. Picture: SA Police

Crime-scene investigators remove sophisticated drug production equipment from drug lab found at the Morphett Vale house. Picture: Dean Martin

He said Kamali then started to receive instructions about the manufacture of ­methylamphetamine and passed them on to two other men who he met at a ­restaurant.

Those two men, Misagh Habibi and Houshang Naroie, have been jailed for their roles at the clandestine lab.

The court heard the lab contained 15.7kg of material that had a purity of 79 per cent, and a further 24kg of ­methylamphetamine that had differing levels of purity.

The court heard drugs seized could fetch $4m if sold in kilogram amounts, or $18m if sold in single street deals.

At the time of their arrest, police had dubbed the lab – l 900m from a primary school – one of the biggest in the state’s history.

Mr Armstrong said Kamali, an Iranian refugee who fled to the US via people smugglers, had written an apology and was genuinely remorseful.

Kamali will be sentenced next month.