Youssef Mohamad Awad to face district court on illegal tobacco accusations

A Sydney man accused of having more than 1.7 tonnes of illegal tobacco on his property near Bundaberg has fronted court on charges which stem from an alleged tip off from the tax watchdog.

A Sydney man accused of producing illegal tobacco on his property near Bundaberg has fronted court for a committal hearing.

Youssef Mohamad Awad appeared in Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Tuesday where two police officers were called as witnesses.

While the prosecution limited its questions to affirming the witness’s statements were in fact their own, defence barrister Nick Larter had more to ask of the Brisbane-based investigators.

Mr Larter questioned whether police should have provided Mr Awad with an interpreter straight away when interviewing the Lebanese expat about the alleged growing of tobacco at Bundaberg Gin Gin Rd at Bullyard.

The officer who interviewed Mr Awad at the time told the court he believed he was able to understand him.

The court heard police had been investigating in December 2020 after a tip-off from the Australian Taxation Office.

1091.4kg of cured tobacco leaf was allegedly found on the property, along with a further 646.84kg of tobacco plant.

Magistrate John McInnes said while he took into account the barrister’s concessions, he was still “obliged to consider the evidence”.

“There are some doubts about the admissibility of the police interviews, but there is some circumstantial evidence against you,” he told Mr Award

Mr Award is charged with possessing a dangerous drug and producing a tobacco plant exceeding 500kg, the weight of which was 646.85kg.

He remains on bail on the condition he not be permitted to leave Australia.

He did not comment or enter a plea.

His case was handed up to the district court at a date yet to be determined.