Alisina Razzaghipour, Christopher Rixon, Maroun Charbel jailed for cocaine job
Three men enticed into a $10m cocaine importation job due to their varying levels of midlife crises have been jailed for more than two decades combined. The trio, who took orders from a man known only as ‘El Chapo’, looked on in horror as their sentences were delivered.
Central Sydney
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A Navy veteran, a hairdresser and a financial services worker have been jailed for more than two decades for their part in a plot to import $10m of cocaine from India.
They were in communication with someone known only as “El Chapo” who told them to break open an imported plasma cutting machine with about $10 million of the drug inside.
The men, Alisina Razzaghipour, 45, Christopher John Rixon, 48, and Maroun Charbel, 49 – a financial services employee, a former serving member of the Royal Australian Navy and a hairdresser – were all seemingly enticed into an almost 55 kilogram drug importation by way of varying midlife crises.
A court heard these were contributed to by marriage breakdowns, estranged children, financial pressures and drug dependencies.
For the risk, they would receive somewhere between $10,000 and $30,000 each.
Appearing on screen in the Sydney District Court in various shades of green prison T-shirt, the three men – not a criminal conviction between them – looked shocked as they were sentenced to jail.
On July 23, 2019, Razzaghipour was texting with a man who went by “El Chapo” about shearing open a plasma cutting machine, taking out 110 square blocks of 41.54kg pure cocaine, and putting it back together.
The court heard the plasma cutter had arrived into Port Botany from India a few weeks ago and had been moved to a Peakhurst warehouse.
When Razzaghipour inquired about the safety of the operation, the unknown “El Chapo” said there was a “99 per cent chance it (the machine) was not followed” and that it had been cleared by customs.
Rixon was involved in some of the discussions between Razzaghipour and “El Chapo”.
“El Chapo” told Razzaghipour about $120,000 was up for grabs if they carried out the job.
“El Chapo” asked Razzaghipour if he or the other men would collect the plasma machine from the warehouse and he replied “none of us want to do the delivery”, asking “El Chapo” to organise a truck.
On July 25, 2019, the crate with the machine inside was delivered to Charbel’s Arcadia acreage, which he had agreed to.
From about 2pm, the men used power tools to drill, grind, saw and bang the machine open, the court heard.
At about 2.40pm, Razzaghipour called “El Chapo” to say they couldn’t find any drugs inside.
“El Chapo” said it was in three of the six compartments “so you might be looking in the empty ones”.
When they still couldn’t find the drugs, they decided they would reassemble the machine back together and put it in storage for a few weeks.
But as they began to reassemble the machine, they heard buzzing noises from inside and removed what they believed to be a surveillance device.
Razzaghipour texted “El Chapo”: “It’s buzzing”.
“El Chapo” replied: “It’s buzzing wtf? … What the f**k, is that a tracker?”.
Razzaghipour replied: “If we survive this LOL”.
“El Chapo” said: “Be very careful … Get out of there”.
Rixon said he would drive the device somewhere to get rid of it.
As Rixon was getting into the car, police arrived and the three men were arrested.
Police also raided a property at Toongabbie.
Razzaghipour and Rixon were charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, while Charbel was charged with aiding and abetting the attempted drug possession.
On Thursday, Razzaghipour was sentenced to nine years and ten months in prison, Rixon was sentenced to eight years and three months in prison, and Charbel was sentenced to six years in prison.