Yacob Zahran jailed for 12 months, head of drug trafficking syndicate
The head of a drug syndicate has been jailed after Police uncovered phone messages linking him to 26kg of cannabis and $75,000 in cash.
Logan
Don't miss out on the headlines from Logan. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The head of a drug syndicate has been jailed after police uncovered phone messages linking him to 26 kilograms of cannabis and $75,000 in cash.
Beenleigh District Court heard on March 24 that Yacob Zahran, 30, was operating a drug syndicate for six months in 2020.
Crown Prosecutor Geoffrey Wong said Zahran was the leader of the operation.
“He was the organiser and controller with a position of influence in the operation,” he said.
The Springwood man pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, supplying and possessing something used in the commission of a crime.
The court heard Queensland Police busted two men who were connected to Zahran: Damian Gregory and Ian Richard Rolfe.
Gregory was found with more than 26kg of cannabis but police and prosecution accepted not all of that weight came from Zahran.
He was sentenced to five and a half years in jail.
Rolfe was sentenced last week to 18 months’ jail, suspended, after he was found with $76,000 in cash connected to Zahran’s operation.
Zahran also supplied cocaine on December 20, 2019.
The court heard police raided his property in April, 2020 and uncovered two mobile phones.
Messages on the phones indicated his organisation of cannabis deals, supplies and a snapshot of the syndicate.
One message showed an agreement to supply Gregory with 5.4kg of cannabis.
The court heard Zahran had undergone “extensive rehabilitation” since his arrest.
Judge Craig Chowdhury said drug trafficking was always taken extremely seriously by the courts.
“It’s one thing to supply to your mates it’s another thing to carry on a drug trafficking ring,” he said.
“The public needs to know, inevitably you will get caught.”
Zahran was sentenced to three and a half years in jail, to serve 12 months in actual custody.
50 a day: Worst places in Qld for attacks on health workers
Queensland health workers are being subjected to 50 acts of physical, verbal or online abuse a day, with violent incidents increasing in nearly every region across the state.
Mayor calls for urgent infrastructure funding statewide
A federal parliamentary inquiry has heard from Queensland councils are struggling to pay for infrastructure as the state’s population growth surges.