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Ibrahims bust: Michael Ibrahim allegedly led undercover police to accused drug boss Hakan Arif

IN most busts, police get the foot soldiers but never the kingpins — except this time. We reveal how an informant took police to the top of an alleged smuggling syndicate, arresting Ibrahim brothers Michael and Fadi and Mr Billionaire Hakan Arif (centre).

Michael Ibrahim pictured at Sydney Airport on July 25, leaving Australia and later to be arrested in Dubai on August 8.
Michael Ibrahim pictured at Sydney Airport on July 25, leaving Australia and later to be arrested in Dubai on August 8.

MISTER Billionaire didn’t meet clients. The 40-year-old, real name Hakan Arif, didn’t become the alleged kingpin of an international drug-smuggling operation without being careful. Very, very careful.

He fled Australia to set up in Dubai and never spoke on normal phones. He avoided appearing in public with business associates. Instead, according to AFP documents tendered at the Dubai extradition proceedings, Arif allegedly had a hierarchy of trusted underlings to do his communicating for him. It kept him out of the police spotlight. But this time, he broke his own rules.

Fadi Ibrahim going through Australian customs on his way to Dubai
Fadi Ibrahim going through Australian customs on his way to Dubai

A prospective business partner, a man with whom police allege Arif had successfully arranged to smuggle 800kg of MDMA from Europe to Australia in a deal brokered by Michael Ibrahim, insisted it was time to break bread and make themselves even richer.

Arif initially resisted a face-to-face meeting, explaining via an encrypted BlackBerry message: “I have a lot of heat on me. I don’t want to contaminate u.”

The would-be business ally had a reason to insist.

“I like that u are cautious, it makes me feel comfortable.”

What Mr Billionaire didn’t know was that his new friend was one of Australian law enforcement’s most valuable assets, a police informant who had spent seven months slowly working his way up the hierarchy, initially targeting Michael Ibrahim, then finding his way to communicating directly with Arif through his underlings and henchmen.

Hakan Arif was initially reluctant to meet MW1
Hakan Arif was initially reluctant to meet MW1

Gradually he built up a level of trust that achieved his goal of getting to this moment — a meeting with Mr Billionaire, the man whom police allege had access to tonnes of drugs and was smuggling them into Australia.

When Arif finally agreed, the meeting came with conditions.

“I’m sure u know but no talk in rooms or cars. Filthy pigs are here and working hard,” Arif allegedly wrote in reference to the police he was certain were on his tail and likely to try to listen to his conversations.

The new business partner, who can only be identified as MW1, agreed and, according to police documents, baited the hook: “I like that u are cautious, it makes me feel comfortable. But trust me, I know the game.”

On June 21, they sat down for a Japanese meal at Zuma, a palatial eatery in Dubai’s tallest skyscraper.

Mr Billionaire started talking, allegedly revealing his network of bribed officials in Australia and his plans to smuggle more drug shipments with MW1 in the future.

It was exactly what Australian police had hoped MW1 would get, a rundown on the inner workings of Mr Billionaire’s alleged operation and a face-to-face meeting where the informant could identify the elusive Arif.

The investigation had also uncovered that Arif’s alleged main supplier was Nejmi Saki, a Dutch and Turkish-based foreign national also known as “The Boss”, who had five tonnes of MDMA “in stock” that one alleged syndicate member said was “the best I’ve ever seen”.

PLANTING THE SEED

Six days earlier, MW1 met Michael Ibrahim at the InterContinental Hotel in Sydney. In the months of dealing with Arif and Ibrahim to plan the alleged smuggle plot, MW1 had only communicated with Arif by sending messages to his underlings or Ibrahim, which were then forwarded up the chain.

He received messages from Arif in the reverse order.

Police believe that among organised crime figures, the BlackBerry phone is their preferred device because it features an almost unbreakable military-grade encryption. But in this case it was rendered useless because MW1 had been invited into the conversation and collected month’s worth of messages, which police have now tendered in court.

At the InterContinental, Ibrahim told MW1 the BlackBerry user names Baby Face, Mr Billionaire and Little Hux were all aliases of Arif. Then, in a breakthrough, Ibrahim told MW1 that Arif’s BlackBerry handle was mr.billionaire@bosspgp.com. The next day, MW1 began messaging Arif directly and told him he was coming to Dubai next week.

MW1 explained he had a “door service”.

On June 20, Arif allegedly told MW1 via BlackBerry that he had a lot of MDMA in stock, before adding that Michael Ibrahim was “straight down the line and like us wants to make money” and “most important” establish “a good relationship”. MW1 ended the conversation by saying he understood Arif’s concern over “being hot” under the glare of police attention, but insisted a meeting would “make sure future business goes smoothly without headaches later”, the court documents claim.

An AFP image shows Michael Ibrahim (right) meeting with an unknown person at Rose Bay on March 14.
An AFP image shows Michael Ibrahim (right) meeting with an unknown person at Rose Bay on March 14.

It had been a long road to Arif. Prior to Michael allegedly divulging his direct contact details, MW1 would have to send a message to Michael Ibrahim. Michael would allegedly forward it up the chain to either Punchbowl identity Moustapha Dib or Arif’s Australian-based underlings, Lone Wolves bikie Hassan Fakhreddine or Ahmad “Rock” Ahmad, the brother of the slain Sydney drug lord Walid “Wally” Ahmad.

But by the time they were sitting down for a meal, MW1 knew the so-called game in a way Arif could never have imagined, and it was about to bring Mr Billionaire’s alleged operation to a spectacular end.

Michael allegedly saw the potential for wild riches.

MW1 had set the perfect trap, all laid out in police documents that will form the basis of the prosecution’s case against some of the 18 people. In a rare insight into how an undercover operation works, they reveal how MW1 laid a honey trap that allegedly encouraged the syndicate to go big with each import because they thought he was offering a free passage to deliver drugs and bootleg cigarettes into the lucrative Australian market.

THE SET-UP

The operation kicked off on the day MW1 was introduced to Michael Ibrahim at the Sydney’s Sheraton Hotel, on Elizabeth St, on November 10, 2016, by Ibrahim family confidant Ryan Watsford.

MW1 explained he had a “door service”, he claimed he could import anything into Australia and it wouldn’t be scrutinised by law enforcement.

Michael allegedly saw the potential for wild riches by earning a cut from MW1’s operation and drafted some of the heaviest hitters in the Sydney and international drug scene to import three shipments of uncut cocaine, MDMA and methamphetamine worth almost $1 billion, with plans to smuggle more in the future.

Nine months later, on August 8, 2017, it was revealed Michael had allegedly delivered 18 people — including Arif, and Michael, Daniel and Fadi Ibrahim — into the hands of a police sting as officers made co-ordinated arrests across three continents.

FINAL FARWELL

What does a man look like as he unknowingly walks towards his own arrest? Michael Ibrahim looked confident and relaxed, wearing a fawn, zipped cardigan and leaning one elbow on a Customs desk.

For Fadi Ibrahim, it was a half smile that he delivered into a Customs camera at the departure gates of Sydney Airport.

It was July 25, the last time the Ibrahim brothers would stand on Australian soil as free men, completely unaware they were walking into a trap that had been carefully laid by police since their investigation into Michael began in March, 2016.

They were about to board a flight to Singapore and then a connecting flight to Thailand. The final destination was Dubai, where they checked into the lap of luxury at the Hilton Hotel’s private beach and 12 high-end restaurants on August 1 with Dib and another man.

There was much to celebrate. Almost $1 billion worth of drugs had allegedly been arranged to be shipped to Australia thanks to Michael’s hook-up. He would be the toast of his friends.

An AFP photo shows Michael Ibrahim, Ryan Watsford and a man believed to be MW1 leaving Royal Motor Yacht Club on May 5.
An AFP photo shows Michael Ibrahim, Ryan Watsford and a man believed to be MW1 leaving Royal Motor Yacht Club on May 5.

But after a week of fun in the sun, police mounted simultaneous raids in Dubai, the Netherlands and Australia. The Ibrahims, Dib and Arif were about to have a meal in Dubai when they were arrested.

Michael is set to face a number of serious drug and other charges, while Fadi will face a charge of dealing with the proceeds of crime.

LEBANON CONNECTION

Four days after their introduction on November 10, Michael met MW1 at the InterContinental Hotel at Double Bay, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, where he allegedly said he had “50 litres (assumed to be pseudoephedrine) in Lebanon and 50 kegs of coke in Lebanon”.

The relationship progressed further at the nearby 21 Espresso cafe on November 18, where Watsford allegedly ushered MW1 into their circle by giving him a BlackBerry for future communications.

Watsford allegedly told MW1 that Dib was “cautious” about him

It was there that MW1 was first made aware of Michael’s alleged business relationship with Punchbowl identity Moustapha Dib.

MW1 allegedly said to Ibrahim: “Obviously with your contacts, your connections over there and how cheap it is over there … (we should) get in some sort of partnership and bring stuff in.”

Ibrahim allegedly replied that he would have to speak to Dib about the proposal, according to the court documents.

Hours later, Dib met the men at the cafe and they walked to Guilfoyle Park. Ibrahim allegedly asked: “So we going to do the one in Lebanon or which one will we go for?” Dib replied: “There’s Lebanon and there’s others.”

A police surveillance photo of Michael Ibrahim meeting MW1 at China Doll restaurant on Woolloomooloo Wharf on January 25.
A police surveillance photo of Michael Ibrahim meeting MW1 at China Doll restaurant on Woolloomooloo Wharf on January 25.

At the Royal Motor Yacht Club in Point Piper on December 29, Watsford allegedly told MW1 that Dib was “cautious” about him because MW1 was not known in the incestuous Sydney underworld.

“You know what I mean, like I’m Ryan Watsford. I live at Rose Bay with my mother,” he said. “Michael Ibrahim, Michael’s brother John, Michael’s brother Fadi, all you gotta do is Google them — bang, bang, bang, bang.”

There is no suggestion Kings Cross club supremo John Ibrahim is involved in the drug smuggling operation.

MW1 was allegedly put in direct contact with Arif’s main supplier.

Their fear about MW1 subsided and the planning continued for another two months until Dib allegedly informed the group that his offshore contact’s ability to get hold of the pseudoephedrine from Lebanon had been delayed because of the Syrian war.

By late February the Lebanon plan had fallen over and Dib allegedly started to wonder about importing drugs from elsewhere. By this stage, he had allegedly told Watsford that he was now comfortable enough with MW1 to have direct conversations with him.

With the potential to earn millions, Dib allegedly asked MW1 if his “door” could handle importing “rake” (cocaine) from the Netherlands or Sudan. The answer, unsurprisingly, was yes.

THE CASH DROP

Flash forward three months and the group was allegedly about to deliver a $1 million cash payment to cover part of an 800kg shipment of MDMA at an unlikely location.

It was Daniel Ibrahim’s eastern suburbs home, just three doors from his father John in Dover Heights.

It is not known if Daniel was at home and he has not been charged over this exchange. He was charged with dealing with the proceeds of crime after allegedly delivering more than $2 million to Michael to pay for smuggled cigarettes.

After a false start trying to pick up the drugs from Mr Billionaire’s people in the Netherlands, MW1 was allegedly put in direct contact with Arif’s main supplier Saki, another step up the hierarchy, according to the court documents.

Finally, MW1 collected the MDMA on May 26.

Part of a shipment of 800kg of MDMA seized by police in Europe on May 26.
Part of a shipment of 800kg of MDMA seized by police in Europe on May 26.

The shipment could have been bigger, with Arif allegedly sending a message to the group on March 23 that said: “If u need 3Tonne I’ll drop to u no problem.”

After the pick up, MW1 texted Michael Ibrahim: “Hey boys got the product all good.”

It wasn’t long before the drugs were in the hands of European police.

But for now, it was time to pay up at the Australian end.

About 8pm on May 26, Michael Ibrahim and Dib allegedly arrived at Daniel’s George St apartment where they were joined shortly afterwards by Arif’s Australian representatives, Ahmad “Rock” Ahmad and Hassan “Fraka” Fakhreddine.

The two cars then left Moore Park for another lot.

Police claim Arif’s men were there to pick up $1.12 million that was allegedly being handed over by Michael Ibrahim to cover MW1’s share of the drugs.

Just to be sure, Ahmad allegedly brought his own money-counting machine and used it to add up the cash three times.

Once the transaction was complete, Michael allegedly messaged MW1: “All good bro they have gone with the money.”

A police photo shows what is alleged to be a $25,000 cash deposit seized on March 14 to be used to pay for MW1’s “door service” in the alleged importation of 800kg of MDMA.
A police photo shows what is alleged to be a $25,000 cash deposit seized on March 14 to be used to pay for MW1’s “door service” in the alleged importation of 800kg of MDMA.

Dib, Ahmad and Fakhreddine left the apartment with a “jerry can” sized item, believed to be the cash, and handed it to an unknown person in the first step of what appeared to be a farcical game of hot potato.

At 8.53pm, the first cash handler drove to Wilberforce Ave, Rose Bay, where he was met by another driver. The two drove in convoy to Moore Park and parked on opposite sides of a parking lot before both drivers walked to meet each other in the middle.

The two cars then left Moore Park for another lot in East Village shopping centre, Zetland, and parked for almost 90 minutes.

After 11.35pm, the cars arrived at one of the driver’s home with the cash.

Despite their cloak-and-dagger efforts, the court papers show police documented every step.

ANOTHER TARGET

With the planning for the 800kg MDMA import running so successfully, Michael Ibrahim allegedly decided it was time to bring some new players into the fold to make even more money.

On March 22, while they were both in the Netherlands, Michael allegedly told MW1 that his friend Steven Fawaz Elmir had broached the idea of the two men importing his syndicate’s drugs into Australia in return for a cut of the proceeds.

Elmir fled Australia in 2016 after his brother-in-law Safwan Charbaji was killed in a shootout at Condell Park, in southwest Sydney, that coincidentally featured members of Rock Ahmad’s family.

During a lunch at upmarket Woolloomooloo eatery China Doll on June 7, MW1 and Michael Ibrahim allegedly discussed how Dib and Elmir “have made peace and are willing to work together in future business opportunities” but Rock “refuses” to work with Elmir.

The first meeting between Michael, MW1 and Elmir was on May 10 at the Address Dubai Marina. Elmir allegedly asked MW1 if he could import drugs from South America, Asia and Greece.

The second shipment contained 500kg of MDMA and 20kg of cocaine stamped with the Audi logo and was seized in the Netherlands on May 22.
The second shipment contained 500kg of MDMA and 20kg of cocaine stamped with the Audi logo and was seized in the Netherlands on May 22.

Five days later at Zuma, Elmir allegedly confirmed to Ibrahim and MW1 that a shipment of 500kg of MDMA and 50kg of cocaine (which would later be reduced to 20kg) would be ready for collection on May 22 at Rotterdam in the Netherlands. As part of the deal, MW1 and Michael Ibrahim allegedly agreed to purchase 50kg of the MDMA for $240,000.

The handover was made in two deliveries on May 22 in the Netherlands. For the second delivery, an unknown man arrived in a black Opal hatchback and MW1 allegedly handed him a €10 note. The code on the note acted as a password and the unknown man had been instructed not to hand over the haul until he had seen the unique combination of letters and numbers.

Daniel Ibrahim reporting for bail outside Waverley Police station

When police seized the drugs soon after, they noticed the 1kg cocaine blocks had been stamped with the Audi logo. Shortly after, MW1 allegedly sent a BlackBerry message to Michael Ibrahim confirming the pick-up.

THE END GAME

The instructions from MW1 to Elmir were clear: Go big or don’t bother.

As plans for the third alleged import were starting to take shape, MW1 sent a message to Elmir explaining that “250kg was the minimum” but “they wanted to do 500kg because there is a bigger cut”, police documents claim. MW1 found an allegedly willing participant in Elmir, who set about sourcing the haul.

Meanwhile, it was time for MW1 to set in chain the plan to arrest Michael and the other alleged members of the syndicate. During a meeting on July 11 at the Sheraton Hotel, MW1 offered to buy Michael Ibrahim two first-class tickets to Dubai in August to ensure he wouldn’t be in Australia when the drugs landed. It appeared to be the perfect alibi.

A sample of the third smuggling shipment attempt, which contained 500kg of MDMA, 116kg of cocaine and 15kg of methamphetamine seized on July 18.
A sample of the third smuggling shipment attempt, which contained 500kg of MDMA, 116kg of cocaine and 15kg of methamphetamine seized on July 18.

Michael allegedly would have already earned his cut of the door fee from the shipment and there was no point hanging around in Australia. But in reality, the plan was putting Michael and others all in the same location, where authorities pounced and arrested them on August 8.

Michael did fly to Dubai on August 1, but didn’t take up MW1’s offer.

By July 18, the alleged shipment was ready to go: 498kg of MDMA, 116kg of cocaine and 15kg of methamphetamine.

The alleged syndicate members were not fools.

The handover was to take place in an industrial area in Rotterdam. This time, a man associated with MW1 took delivery of 21 boxes of drugs from a number of men who arrived in a black van and a red VW hatchback.

The haul was seized by police shortly after — not long after MW1 allegedly sent Michael Ibrahim a BlackBerry message that said the job was “all sorted”.

Two months later, and seemingly in the clear, members of the group converged in Dubai to celebrate their success. Police had other plans.

On August 8, police began their co-ordinated arrest plan on three continents. The game was up.

THE WASH-UP

He was a sheep in wolf’s clothing. A bloke who infiltrated an alleged drug syndicate in the name of the good guys. But little else is known about the go-between MW1.

Questions about the police strategy in such a risky operation may remain a mystery even as the court case unfolds: Could the police have made arrests earlier? Why did they wait until Fadi and Michael were in Dubai? Why did police move only after three alleged drug imports?

But the one certainty is that this was a bold investigation that resulted in a large number of significant arrests. The alleged syndicate members were not fools. They were taken down by impressive policing.

With the case now set to hit the courts, prosecutors will have to prove it. Or no one goes to jail.

SMUGGLED SMOKES LIT FIRE THAT LED TO ARREST

THE heat was on. Michael Ibrahim was “shitting” himself.

On the afternoon of July 6, police informant MW1 sent him a message on an encrypted BlackBerry to confirm an illegal shipment of 900,000 packets of Manchester cigarettes worth millions of dollars had arrived in Sydney on the ship Josephine Maersk.

Soon the shipment would be delivered to a warehouse in North Parramatta.

Federal police show images from a service station on Liverpool Rd during Operation Veyda.
Federal police show images from a service station on Liverpool Rd during Operation Veyda.

“Thank f… they landed,” Ibrahim allegedly said in a text message reply to MW1. “Sorry bro if I’m breaking your balls, just want 2 pay everyone and get it off my head, lol. I hate owing money 2 people.”

Ibrahim later sent another text to MW1: “Yeah bro, love ya, so wrapped f… I owe u One big time so f…ing happy I’ve been Shitting myself all weekend, lol.”

A few days later Ibrahim could not contain his excitement about the “shifty” ­importation that had made him and his partners $7 million. Court documents claim Ibrahim said to MW1 at a meeting at the Sheraton on the Park on July 11: “I have been f…ing dying for this job. Everyone is on my back, bro.”

Michael Ibrahim talks on a BlackBerry to MW1 while inside the Ferris St warehouse where he was unloading a shipment of tobacco.
Michael Ibrahim talks on a BlackBerry to MW1 while inside the Ferris St warehouse where he was unloading a shipment of tobacco.

But Ibrahim did not want to stop there. That same afternoon he discussed plans to ­import a further 500kg of MDMA and 200kg of cocaine, according to the police statement of facts.

As he helped to unload the illegal cigarettes at the warehouse on Ferris St, North Parramatta, Ibrahim told MW1 he would pay for first-class tickets to Dubai for himself and Moustapha Dib so that the pair were out of Australia when the drugs arrived, the police facts state.

MW1 had offered to foot the bill for the flights, but Ibrahim replied: “Nah bro, I’ll get that done. My shout. F… me dead I’m in the factory now, lol,” he texted.

What Ibrahim didn’t know was that as he sent the text message at 4.15pm, police had cameras in the warehouse that allegedly captured him writing the above message on his BlackBerry.

Ibrahim, who went by several names on his BlackBerry including Entertainer88, Sheriton and The Man, was one of more than 20 people arrested this year in one of Australia’s biggest organised crime stings.

Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/ibrahims-bust-michael-ibrahim-allegedly-led-undercover-police-to-accused-drug-boss-hakan-arif/news-story/4d626b9cd3c6472778b592c77a0e20b8