Gabriel Issa, Razija Rosa Adilovic jailed for cocaine supply operation
A burly 27-year-old drug dealing mastermind wept in the dock as he and his fiance were handed their punishment for running a major cocaine supply operation to Sydney’s affluent north shore.
Central Sydney
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A young couple engaged to be married will instead spend the foreseeable future in jail after being convicted of directing more than 500 drug deals to Sydney’s exclusive north shore last year.
Gabriel Issa and Razija ‘Rosa’ Adilovic oversaw the supply of 408.5g of cocaine from their Campsie unit between January and February of 2019, with at least seven drivers delivering bags to McMahons Point.
They faced a maximum of 25 years behind bars after pleading guilty to supplying a commercial quantity of prohibited drugs.
Issa also pleaded guilty to directing a criminal group.
On Tuesday Judge Nicole Norman sentenced 27-year-old Issa to four years and one month jail and Adilovic, 26, to three years and four months in prison backdated to March 2019.
Non-parole periods of two years and six months, and two years and one month, were imposed respectively.
The burly Issa wept with his head in his hands throughout the sentencing at Downing Centre District Court, with his refugee fiance Adilovic also wiping away tears as she learned her fate.
Outside court the couple’s lawyer Greg Gould acknowledged a “great result” but questioned why police allowed his clients to carry on dealing drugs for two months before their dramatic arrests, despite knowing they were selling to their friends well before.
Judge Norman heard last week the syndicate grew from small-time deals with mates into a business, with its growth motivated by a need to pay thousands in medical bills for the “really ill” Issa.
She accepted that but found those financial needs could have been at least partly addressed by selling a $150,000 concrete pump, which the couple refused to do.
The drugs “obviously entailed a profit”, even if that had since “largely dissipated”, Judge Norman said.
Drivers were paid $40 per delivery of a 0.5g bag, with the couple footing fuel and food costs, completing 534 deals in the two-month period police was tracking the group.
Issa, who held the more “senior” role, promoted the business with group texts to more than 300 contacts.
Agreed facts state the gross income accrued from the deals totalled $226,930.
The court heard Issa had been exposed to “considerable disadvantage” including limited schooling, depression and developing a drug dependency at a young age to deal with an abusive childhood.
Issa will be eligible for parole on September 14, 2021, while Adilovic could be released on April 14, 2021.