Two Dutch men arrested over plot to traffick 200kg ecstasy into Sydney
Two Dutch men have been arrested for allegedly supplying almost 200kg of MDMA to a crime syndicate, involving members of a well known Sydney family, which infiltrated the Australian Border Force.
NSW
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TWO Dutch men have been arrested for allegedly supplying almost 200kg of MDMA to a crime syndicate, involving members of a well known Sydney family, which infiltrated the Australian Border Force.
Last year police smashed an alleged drug-trafficking and tobacco-smuggling network operating out of NSW, arresting 10 people during sweeping raids across Australia and Dubai.
Among them was ABF supervisor Craig Eakin and three brothers from the Jomaa family.
Brothers Koder, Ali and Abbas Jomaa are accused of conspiring to import about 200kg of MDMA, more commonly known as ecstasy or E, plus illegal tobacco, via sea cargo.
During the Operation Astatine strike force investigation police identified the source of the MDMA as coming from the Netherlands.
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They alerted Netherlands police and last week they arrested two Dutch nationals — a 36-year-old man and a 37-year-old man — for their alleged roles in supplying 197kg of MDMA to the Australian syndicate.
AFP acting manager organised crime Acting Commander Krissy Barrett said of the Dutch arrests: “This is just one example of our strategy to … cripple all elements of their supply chain.”
“Our impact is strongest when action is taken not only in Australia but also with our international partners on a global level to sever the ties of these … networks at the source.”
In August last year police arrested the Jomaa brothers, ABF supervisor Craig Eakin and former Border Force employee turned NSW police officer Johayna Mehri for their alleged involvement in the syndicate.
In a major security breach, police allege Eakin was bribed by the Jomaa family to downgrade customs alerts so illegal cargo would not be X-rayed by Border Force officials.
He allegedly also passed on highly sensitive intelligence about suspicious container and plane cargo and which groups law enforcement were targeting.
Police also allege he took screenshots of Border Force computer screens he then handed over at a Brighton-Le-Sands café.
Last year The Daily Telegraph revealed the alarming security flaws at Customs House following the charging of the men.
According to a police statement of facts previously tendered in court, Eakin received $100,000 in cash from Mehri to look up sensitive intelligence when he was the supervisor of Customs House’s Cargo Targeting and Assessment section.
Ali Jomaa allegedly used an encrypted BlackBerry phone, and the handle “Bowzer”, to communicate with a police witness about specific advice Eakin had given him on how to avoid detection and “about legitimate Australian company imports”.
Police allege Ali’s brother Koder Jomaa was the kingpin of the syndicate and key to organising a shipment of 200kg of MDMA from Europe to Australia.
The shipment never made it to our shores.
Police raided Eakin’s home on July 20 and found $99,000 Mehri had allegedly given him on behalf of the Jomaa brothers.
When police searched Mehri’s Hurstville home on August 8 they found $50,000 in cash.