The Snitch: Ibrahim’s incarcerated pal misses his mum’s funeral

Stuck in jail, John Ibrahim’s pal Ryan Watsford was unable to get to his mum’s funeral last week. Sadly John was not there either, possibly because his girlfriend’s mother also passed away.

It was a small and solemn ceremony at The Northern Suburbs Crematorium, but two people were noticeably absent: Ryan Watsford and his buddy John Ibrahim.

Watsford’s mother, Ricky, died last Saturday following a tragically short battle with brain cancer.

The Snitch is told Watsford, who is currently in Silverwater jail, wasn’t allowed
to leave prison to attend his mother’s funeral but had been granted compassionate leave
in early February to visit her hospital bedside.

John Ibrahim and Ryan Watsford on holiday. Picture: Facebook

“Compared to the publicity of a funeral, an outsider wouldn’t have the intimate knowledge of a visit to hospital or the schedule,” a source said. “It minimises the risk significantly.”

It was a harsh but understandable outcome for the former Double Bay real estate
agent, considering his involvement in a global drug trafficking syndicate involving Sydney’s underworld heavyweights.

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Watsford pleaded guilty last year to attempted commercial drug importation and proceeds of crime over his role in a plot to bring hundreds of kilograms of ecstasy into Australia.

He introduced an undercover operative to John’s brother, Michael Ibrahim, at the Intercontinental Hotel in Double Bay in 2016.

He had been living at home with his mother before his arrest in 2017.

Eddie Obeid’s son, Moses Obeid, who was friends with Watsford, turned out to the funeral to pay his respects but John Ibrahim was nowhere to be seen.

John Ibrahim, Sarah Budge and her mum Leone Budge, who died last week. Picture: Instagram

That may be explained by the death on the same day of his girlfriend Sarah Budge’s mother, who had battled terminal cancer.

In a poignant tribute posted online, Ms Budge remembered her mother as a “very special person” who brought warmth and brightness to everyone around her.

Budge’s trial for firearm possession, to which she pleaded not guilty, was postponed recently so she could care for her mother.

WANDERING HANDS

IF you have wandering hands, policing probably isn’t the best profession to be in.

This week a male sergeant was charged for allegedly grabbing a colleague on the breast at a work Christmas party last year.

The Rocks, a cop pub-hopping hotspot for end-of-year festivities, was the scene of the alleged grab on December 5.

The general duties copper will appear at the Downing Centre Local Court next month charged with sexually touching a person without consent.

The Snitch hears another officer is under investigation for similar behaviour at an informal work function.

That incident involved grabbing a woman on the bottom.

HIGH COST OF FREEDOM

After four months in custody, Sydney solicitor Ali Abbas has secured his conditional freedom for $2.42 million.

Sydney lawyer Ali Abbas. Picture: Supplied

Further details of the lawyer’s alleged involvement in a cover-up plot for 15-year-old Brayden Dillon’s murder have emerged after Abbas, 38, was released from Silverwater jail on bail on Friday evening.

The accused triggerman in Brayden’s death in April 2017 was Conrad Craig, who has been charged with murder.

According to a NSW Supreme Court bail judgment, police allege Abbas paid Craig, through his solicitor, $18,000 to get the brief of evidence in the murder case and drafted affidavits absolving key suspects from any role in the shooting.

Police allege members of that family ordered the hit on Brayden.

Abbas, who is unlikely to get a trial before mid-2021, also allegedly offered an extra $25,000 to Craig and to pay his legal fees to seal the deal.

Abbas has now agreed, as part of his bail conditions, not to fight his legal profession suspension.

He will have ample time to read over the 82,600 pages of material already served by the prosecution.

flirtatious jurors

Two female jurors who were booted from the Brothers for Life mega-trial, including one who flirted with the gang bosses in the dock, have made a surprise return.

Detectives were surprised to spot the temptresses in the public gallery at the Court of Criminal Appeal, where brothers Farhad and Mumtaz Qaumi were appealing against their conviction for the murder of Joe Antoun.

But it was hardly worth the effort for the flirtatious ex-jurors, given the once-notorious brothers appeared by audio-visual link only.

According to a witness, once the appeal judges walked off the bench, one of the Qaumis signalled at the giddy women to call them.

They’ll be waiting a while to meet the former BFL Blacktown chapter bosses in the flesh — Mumtaz and Farhad are serving at least 36 and 43 years in jail respectively.

One of the jurors was discharged from the jury during the 2016 trial in the NSW Supreme Court after the judge, prosecution and detectives picked up on her persistent smiling.

Never mind the fact the brothers were being tried for a string of violence that brought southwest Sydney to its knees.

Another was discharged after it emerged she had a loose association with one of the witnesses.

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