Afif Saliba: LT Diamond Drilling boss allegedly tried to remove meth

The panicked conversations allegedly had between a pair of men fruitlessly trying to extract almost 300kg of meth hidden inside an excavator were secretly recorded by police, a court has heard

Police swapped out a whopping haul of meth allegedly imported inside a digger and replaced it with a listening device which recorded the panic and confusion of the two men accused of trying to extract the drugs, a court heard.

Professional Western Sydney concrete cutter Afif Saliba of LT Diamond Drilling is charged with one count of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug.

During a bail application for Saliba, 30, Central Local Court heard excerpts of a transcript of the listening device hidden inside the digger which had been taken back to Saliba’s Arndell Park warehouse.

The excavator where police allege the meth was hidden.

The conversations allegedly occurred between Saliba and his co-accused Antonio De Luca, 26, of Prospect during the two days they spent to remove the 295kg of meth they were expecting to be secreted in the excavator’s counter weight.

“Don’t believe it, gotta be here, they’re just trying to f*** me,” the men were allegedly recorded as saying.

“No chance, what did we say yesterday?

“All of this is engine – there’s no concrete.

“Gotta be here. How? Oh my god, it can’t be.

“F***. F***ing done all this hard yakka for what? Don’t find it, don’t get rich.

“That’s what I mean bro, someone has dobbed on someone.”

By the time Saliba allegedly began looking for the meth, police had removed it

Saliba of Rydalmere had only a minor role to the alleged $184 million drug enterprise according to his barrister Peter Lange.

“To use a colloquial expression, my client is very much a Johnny come lately,” Mr Lange said.

Mr Lange submitted it was in fact the third co-accused Raymond Saab, 25, of Merrylands who was the most involved.

All three men are charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug but in addition, Saab is charged with the importation of the drugs.

Mr Lange told the court it was Saab who was involved with the excavator from when it was initially delivered to a Penrith warehouse before being moved to Saliba’s work premises.

It was also Saab who is accused of buying a new key to the digger off eBay after a “comedy of errors” caused it to go missing, the court heard.

“My client’s role was not to attempt to possess what was contained in the excavator but to secure access to it on behalf of others, most notably Mr Saab,” Mr Lange said.

“His very job was to cut concrete.”

The Crown submitted Saliba’s role should not be downplayed.

“It’s just implausible the syndicate would have left such a valuable and large consignment with someone who is not a trusted member of the syndicate – it’s too great a risk,” the prosecution said.

One of the men in the alleged syndicate is arrested.

Mr Lange clarified he was not proposing his client thought he was taking part in a regular job.

“Might I make it perfectly clear it is not suggested on behalf of the applicant gaining access to the counterweight was part of lawful business,” Mr Lange said.

“What is suggested is the role he played is a limited one and … he was selected because of his knowledge on how to cut concrete.

“There is no evidence he had knowledge of what was contained in the concrete container nor the quantity.”

The public gallery was filled with Saliba’s supporters including his heavily pregnant wife and an older woman who sobbed and prayed over rosary beads for the duration of the bail hearing.

Saliba’s father offered up the family home, valued at $1.6 million, as surety.

Magistrate Margaret Quinn refused the bail application.

Saliba will next appear in court on December 15.