Tobacco syndicate: Ibrahim nephew escapes prison for guarding cigarettes
The nephew of Michael Ibrahim, who was arrested when police pounced on his uncle’s tobacco and drug importation syndicate, has escaped prison because he didn't grasp why he was guarding a warehouse filled with cigarettes, a court has heard.
NSW
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A man who guarded a warehouse containing $11 million of black-market cigarettes for a crime syndicate has been spared prison time because he was simply showing “loyalty” to his uncle — Michael Ibrahim.
On Wednesday Abraham Sayour became the second person convicted in relation to a crime syndicate that smuggled cigarettes and MDMA into Sydney in 2016 and 2017.
Strike Force Veyda officers allege major players in the syndicate included Sydney real estate agent Ryan Watsford and Michael Ibrahim, with others working to import the illegal goods to Australia from the Middle East and Europe.
The NSW District Court heard an undercover cop posing as Watsford’s friend told him there was “a door” to bring in contraband without police knowing.
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The trio organised for the tobacco to come in to Sydney in six shipments between November 2016 and July 2017, District Court Judge Dina Yehia said on Wednesday.
The fifth shipment contained 900,000 packets of cigarettes from Dubai which were to be sold for $8 each.
The court heard the street value of the fifth shipment was about $5.2 million, but The Daily Telegraph understands the total value of the tobacco, if it had been imported through proper channels, would be worth more than $11m.
The court heard Ibrahim was a father figure and mentor to Sayour and the young man had developed “a sense of loyalty” to his uncle.
So there was little hesitation when Ibrahim asked Sayour, then 20, and his older brother Hasan Sayour to come to the warehouse to stand guard on the evening of July 11, 2017, the court heard.
When the young men arrived at the warehouse, the court heard, Ibrahim showed them how to use the roller door and left.
They sat around, inspected some boxes, and talked about how to make money in a trucking business.
The younger Sayour, according to prosecutors, “knew something wasn’t right” and that he should have left, but they stayed with the 650,000 unsold packets of smokes.
When Ibrahim allegedly messaged the older Sayour on an encrypted BlackBerry and told them to leave after about four hours, they left.
Veyda officers ultimately charged Sayour with possessing tobacco unlawfully imported to Australia, but his lawyer Abbas Soukie negotiated to have the charge reduced to recklessly dealing with an instrument of crime in exchange for a guilty plea.
Sayour’s lawyers argued there was no financial gain, no knowledge of the other shipments and a very limited involvement with the syndicate’s operations, adding that he hadn’t even been entrusted with one of the BlackBerry phones.
The court heard Sayour had unwittingly carried a cooler bag containing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the undercover cop’s car while at Ibrahim’s home following the fourth shipment.
On Wednesday Judge Yehia found Sayour had not been “substantially reckless” guarding the smokes, convicted him and handed down an 18-month sentence to be served in the community.
Sayour’s girlfriend and family supporters stood up and hugged in the public gallery as Judge Yehia ordered he walk free from the Downing Centre District Court after paying $500 and agreeing to be of good behaviour.
“Mr Sayour is very pleased with the outcome,” Mr Soukie told The Daily Telegraph.
“He has, over the last two years, lived with the stress of these proceedings and the uncertainty that is generally associated with the criminal justice system.”
“He now looks forward to moving on with his life and being a productive member of society.”
Michael Ibrahim — the younger brother of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim — pleaded guilty to conspiring to import a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug and importing tobacco in December 2018.
He will be sentenced in April.
Watsford was sentenced him to a maximum eight years and six months in jail with a non-parole period of four years late last year.
Hasan Sayour’s matter has been pushed back to be heard later this month after Mr Soukie told the court negotiations were continuing.