Omar Mashrap: $600k drug import accused refused bail ahead of retrial
A former high-flying Sydney finance worker was arrested after a large haul of drugs was allegedly intercepted from Germany. He now faces a retrial after a jury was unable to return a verdict.
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A former high-flying finance worker from Sydney accused of importing more than $600,000 worth of ice and MDMA will face a retrial in November after a jury failed to return a verdict at his initial trial.
Police allege Omar Mashrap, 33, attempted to obtain 5.5kg of MDMA and 500g of methylamphetamine in August 2019 in a consignment sent from Germany.
Australian Border Force officers intercepted the consignment at Sydney Airport and allegedly found the haul of drugs hidden among garden lamps.
That led to a police raid of Mashrap’s apartment in Sydney’s CBD and his arrest.
Mashrap stood trial in the NSW District Court earlier this month having pleaded not guilty to two charges of attempt to possess a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug and attempt to possess a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug.
However, the jury failed to return a verdict after four days of deliberating.
The former Sydney Stock Exchange employee appeared back in the NSW District Court on Friday and a retrial date was set for November 16.
He also applied for bail with his lawyer taking aim at the Crown case.
“In our submission it is not a strong case,” he said. “It has taken the jury almost five days of deliberating.”
He also offered strict bail conditions “akin to house arrest” and argued no drugs or drug paraphernalia were found inside Mashrap’s home when police raided it, but rather just packaging from the consignment.
Judge Leonie Flannery disagreed with the defence’s claim that it was not a strong Crown case and refused bail.
She stated Mashrap was facing a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if found guilty and was a real concern of not appearing on the next occasion if released on bail.
The Crown prosecutor had argued, during the bail application, that Mashrap had “dishonest tendencies” and claimed he had falsified documents in the past and had also changed his name and was a high flight risk.
The drugs allegedly seized by police had a potential street value of $600,000, police said in a statement.