Joel Batour-Pullin, Nassim Eid charged with $2.4m extortion, kidnapping on Sunshine Coast

Two men are accused of being in a group that took a man against his will over a perceived multimillion-dollar debt owed to a NSW organised crime syndicate.

Nassim Eid and Joel A Batour-Pullin faced Maroochydore Magistrates Court by video from the watch-house on Tuesday. Picture: Patrick Woods

Two men have been accused of being part of a group which took a man against his will to extort money to recoup an alleged multimillion dollar debt.

Police allege Nassim Eid and Joel A Batour-Pullin played their own roles in a botched attempt to retrieve $2.4m owed by the man to a NSW organised crime syndicate through a business he ran. It is understood several other members of the group remain unidentified.

The 30-year-old men face charges of deprivation of liberty and extortion with the aggravating factor of serious organised crime, and both applied for their conditional releases in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Batour-Pullin faces an additional charge of contravening an order to open his phone.

Police prosecutor Bec Lambert said bail was objected to and alleged the men were a risk to the victim and would fail to return to court due to being from Sydney.

During the bail hearing, police alleged the group of men intercepted the man and his partner outside their home just after midnight on April 10 on the Sunshine Coast.

Joel Batour-Pullin outside court in 2020.

In reading out the allegations, acting magistrate Janelle Boegheim said the victim’s partner tried to call triple-0 however was told to hang up the phone by the men otherwise they would “kill” her boyfriend.

“You know what this is about … the bikie called me and told me stuff … if you want we’ll sell the debt but I guarantee when they walk out of your house they’re not looking for money they’re looking for blood … get me the money there’s no way around it,” Ms Boegheim quoted the unknown men telling the alleged victim during the ordeal.

The court heard the unidentified men, who were not alleged to be Eid or Batour-Pullin, were accused of making other threats to the man including cutting off his fingers or saying he would be taken to a farm and “tortured” if his partner wasn’t there.

Conversations went for hours about negotiating the debt until the morning until the alleged victim and the woman were driven to a unit at Maroochydore, the court heard.

Sergeant Lambert said the group allegedly opened the man’s phone and messaged his contacts in his phone for cash and accessed his banking applications to locate money.

Later that night police swarmed the Maroochydore unit after calls were made by the man’s contacts following the bizarre texts, where police allege Eid and Batour-Pullin were found with the two people.

Batour-Pullin and Eid both appeared in court by video from the Maroochydore watch-house. Picture: Patrick Woods

Sergeant Lambert alleged the two 30-year-old men were from NSW and had no ties to Queensland.

She alleged they “solely” travelled to the holiday destination where flights and accommodation were booked for no other reason.

The police prosecutor said multiple crime scenes were established due to the investigation and held concerns over the allegedly menacing remarks made to the victim.

High-profile solicitor Ahmed Dib, who flew from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast on Tuesday to appear for both men, pushed for their release on bail, where he argued it was not Eid or Batour-Pullin who made the threats but claimed they were only in the vicinity when police arrived to the unit.

Mr Dib is an Australian lawyer who has represented notorious alleged gangland figures and accused terrorists.

The solicitor acknowledged Eid had criminal history in NSW but said he had always shown up to court even when he faced a jail sentence.

He submitted Batour-Pullin had never been to jail before either, with the most serious offence on his history relating to car rebirthing in NSW.

High-profile lawyer Ahmed Dib outside court. Picture: Patrick Woods

The criminal lawyer claimed the police case was weak and the alleged debt was already accepted by the victim. He also stated there were no words allegedly mentioned about a criminal syndicate by the group and said there were legal issues with the facts of the extortion charge.

The court heard Eid had a sick mother and was still recovering from a car accident, and could abide by strict conditions in Sydney and could offer sureties to the court as well as his co-accused Batour-Pullin.

The lawyer put to the court the alleged victim was in fact the owner of a “Ponzi scheme” who they accused of defrauding a significant number of people.

He told the court there was also a defence for Batour-Pullin’s alleged failure to open his phone to police due to religious reasons, where he said there were photos of his wife on his phone without her headscarf.

After recounting the allegations in open court, Ms Boegheim refused bail for both men and said they may commit further offences or endanger the alleged victim.

Their matters will return to court on June 9.