Youssef Mohamad Awad guilty of possession, production of tobacco

The owner of a farm growing an illegal tobacco crop worth almost $20million in tax revenue says he did not know about the crop until he visited the property 18 months after buying it.

Youssef Mohamad Awad told police he did not know about an illegal tobacco crop worth over $19m in tax revenue growing on his farm until he visited the property 18 months after he purchased it.

A Sydney-based owner of a Bullyard property has told a court he was unaware his brother was growing an illegal tobacco crop there, worth more than $19 million in tax revenue.

Youssef Mohamad Awad, 48, pleaded guilty to possession and production of tobacco above 500kg in Bundaberg District Court on Thursday, September 28.

The court heard Awad had owned a farm in Bullyard since mid-2019, but had been living and working in Sydney during that time.

In September 2020, police identified a tobacco crop growing on the property, and searched the farm in December of that year.

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They found 1091kg of dried tobacco in a large generator-powered kiln on the property, which was running at the time of the search, and a tobacco crop with an estimated dry weight of 11,950kg.

The court heard the total excise payable on the tobacco found on the property was about $19.72 million.

Later on the day of the search, police located Awad, who admitted to have been in the area of the property for the previous five days, including working on the farm for two of those days performing tasks including repairing a water pump irrigation system which watered the tobacco crop.

Youssef Mohamad Awad told police he did not know about an illegal tobacco crop worth almost $20million in tax revenue growing on his farm until he visited the property 18 months after he purchased it.

Awad told police his brother and cousin lived and worked on the farm on a permanent basis, and Awad would travel to Bundaberg to work on his farm when his brother visited Sydney on occasion.

When asked by police who was responsible for growing the tobacco crop, Awad said he did not know if his brother or someone else was responsible.

Awad’s defence barrister, Callum Cassidy, told the court there was no evidence to suggest that Awad was aware of the existence of the tobacco crop on his farm prior to December 2020.

The court heard Awad was supporting his wife and three children, with his youngest son having some behavioural and mental health issues.

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Judge John Allen KC agreed with the prosecution’s submission that Awad should be sentenced on the basis that he did not know tobacco was being grown on his property prior to December 2020, and his involvement in the production of tobacco was limited to the two days’ work that he had attested to police.

Awad was given a head sentence of two years, with immediate release on recognisance subject to payment of $1000 as a good behaviour bond for three years.