By Marta Pascual Juanola and Lachlan Abbott
The alleged ringleader and the enforcer of a $30 million illicit tobacco syndicate will be released back into the community despite one of the men being arrested at the airport as he attempted to leave the country.
Nazir Haddara, 25, and Hassan Jassem, 21, were granted bail at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday afternoon following a protracted hearing that detailed some of the inner workings of the alleged criminal network, including keeping detailed store records of all illicit products sold.
Boxer Nazir Haddara, the alleged leader of the $30 million tobacco syndicate.Credit: Eddie Jim
Haddara, dressed in dark clothing and lugging a large black suitcase, declined to speak to the media as he walked free from custody to meet waiting family members just after 3.30pm.
A barefoot Jassem walked out shortly after, carrying his belongings in a large plastic bag. A younger family member rushed to cover his face with a jacket before whisking him into a car.
Haddara, the alleged ringleader of the syndicate, was arrested at Melbourne Airport early on Tuesday as he tried to board an international flight to Dubai.
The court heard the 25-year-old boxer, who was on bail at the time of his arrest for an unrelated matter, had paid a deposit for a luxury villa in the Middle Eastern city, despite being unemployed and not lodging a tax return in three years.
Investigators arrested Jassem, the syndicate’s suspected enforcer, in a room at the Philadelphia Hotel in Echuca on Tuesday, where they allegedly found a large amount of illicit cigarettes and vapes, two mobile phones and two envelopes containing more than $11,000 in cash.
The court heard tapped phone calls had recorded Jassem discussing the possibility of setting up his own illicit tobacco shops with his brother Sami, warning that “no one is allowed to know because Naz [Nazir Haddara] will try to f---ing burn it out”.
The arrests followed a 12-month police investigation in which officers say they intercepted more than 10,000 telephone calls by alleged syndicate members detailing the operations and structure of the enterprise and the roles several key players held.
In some of the phone calls, they allegedly commented on police raids on some of the tobacco shops and detailed threats made to a staff member they claim had stolen $10,000 from one of the businesses.
“I went to her house with three other guys at 12 or one in the morning. We let ourselves in. The whole house was flipped upside down,” Jassem allegedly told his fiancee during a call intercepted in August.
“I said: ‘If the money is not back to us, we’re coming after your Mum’ … We know where her son goes to kindergarten. Why would we rock up at her house if we’re not going to do something?”
In another tapped phone call in October, Jassem allegedly disclosed to another associate that he had assaulted a shop attendant who had stolen from the syndicate, telling the associate the options he was given were to either “shoot him or bash him”.
“He and his cousins are the dirtiest crew in Melbourne,” Jassem is alleged to have told the associate.
Alleged syndicate enforcer Hassan Jassem.Credit: Eddie Jim
The court heard Haddara used encrypted messaging apps to liaise with members of the syndicate, and had a series of bank accounts that received millions of dollars in credit from a network of confectionary and gift shops across Victoria selling illicit tobacco and vapes.
Detective senior constable Jessica Keenansaid Haddara had been observed by surveillance agents visiting properties, talking to landlords and carrying out financial transactions.
“The syndicate continues to grow and expand as a criminal business, despite police interventions disrupting the offending, search warrants and seizures,” Keenan said.
Keenan said phone intercepts showed members of the syndicate treated police intervention as “the cost of doing business” and simply an obstacle to overcome.
“This mindset is demonstrated by some of the shops in which police intervention has taken place, restocking overnight and open for business again the following morning,” Keenan said.
Police searched Haddara’s Hoppers Crossing home after his arrest on Tuesday, and seized a Lamborghini registered under someone else’s name and $40,000 in cash hidden in nappies.
The court heard Haddara, who was living at the address with his partner and 10-month-old child, had been borrowing the luxury car from a friend.
“It’s clear that there’s a significant amount of money that is involved in this illicit tobacco business, and Nazir [Haddara] has demonstrated that he’s been able to get his hands on multitudes of cash,” Keenan said.
Keenan said officers had only been able to locate $70,000 connected to the criminal network, which meant there could be significant cash “out there in other forms” for Haddara to flee Australia.
She argued both men posed a serious threat to the safety of the community and there were no bail conditions that could mitigate that risk.
“As long as his syndicate operates there is a risk that it’s going to encompass violence against persons that are in disagreement with them or that cross them in a way such as taking their money,” Keenan told the court.
However, magistrate Michelle Hodgson found the risk of flight had been “neutralised” by Haddara having provided a return ticket for his Dubai trip, and resolved to grant bail to both men subject to strict conditions.
“Taking into account all the factors, I’ve concluded that whilst there is a significant risk of both Mr Jassem and Mr Haddara endangering the safety of other members of the community, I am satisfied conditions could be put in place that would ameliorate the risk to an acceptable level,” Hodgson said.
Bail conditions include a $150,000 surety for Haddara and a $100,000 surety for Jassem. The pair will also need to abide by a curfew and will be banned from attending shops selling illicit tobacco, vapes or tobacco products.
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