Joshua Majdalani: Wellington jail guard guilty of corruptly receiving a benefit

A cocaine-dealing NSW Corrective Services officer has been found guilty after he collected cash from inmates’ girlfriends in exchange for highly-prized bupe strips.

A Corrective Services officer has been found guilty of corruption and taking part in the supply of prohibited drugs to inmates after a court heard his mother’s post office (PO) box was used to help smuggle illegal contraband into a regional NSW jail.

Joshua Travers Majdalani had pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of supplying prohibited drugs to inmates Wellington jail and corruptly receiving cash benefits from the inmates or their associates.

Corrupt jail guard Joshua Majdalani. Picture: Corrective Services NSW

Police had alleged the 29-year-old Dubbo man supplied oxymetholone and stanozolol, which they referred to as “steroids”, to inmates while he worked as a corrections officer at Wellington in 2019.

Majdalani was also alleged to have received $4200 worth of payments from inmates in exchange for the supply of a mobile phone, tobacco and buprenorphine strips which were found during a search of a cell in an area of the jail he worked in.

A hearing into the allegations was held in Dubbo and Narromine over four days in June and December.

On the final day of the hearing, police prosecutor Sergeant Edward Knight summed up the case by telling the Narromine Local Court that Majdalani had “engaged in drug trafficking” after the court heard inmates had directed people to send drugs to a PO Box which belonged to Majdalani’s mother. It is not suggested that his mother engaged in any wrongdoing.

“Why would people so motivated to get buprenorphine into jail urge upon the courier to send them to the PO Box used by a Corrective Services officer?,” Sgt Knight said.

“This isn’t a mistake, it isn’t some sort of set up.

“The only reason to send them to that PO Box is because that avenue will be met with success.”

Joshua Majdalani had two supply prohibited drugs charges laid against him dismissed because there was no evidence he supplied steroids to inmates. Picture: Facebook/Joshua Majdalani

Sgt Knight said bank records obtained by police showed women in relationships with occupants of cell 86 had been directed by the inmates to withdraw money from ATMs that ended up in Majdalani’s bank account.

He said on multiple occasions in October 2019, the inmates who occupied cell 86 had transferred money to women and the women had then withdrawn it and deposited it into Majdalani’s bank account.

One occasion, one of the inmate’s names appeared on Majdalani’s bank statement and Majdalani later closed the bank account.

The court heard after Majdalani’s ex-girlfriend, Amrik Sandhu, also a jail guard at Wellington, found a message on his phone in January 2020 which referred to the sender being “Jakey’s old celly”, Majdalani made phone calls to another jail guard Mark Degraua.

Sgt Knight told the court Mr Degraua said to Majdalani “is she gonna dob on ya or go to the coppers?”.

The court heard Majdalani rang his aunt the next day to discuss the message Sandhu saw and he said “if she (Ms Sandhu) wanted to, she could sink me with it, like get me sacked and what not”. No allegations of wrongdoing have been made in respect of Mr Degraua, Majdalani’s girlfriend or aunt.

“He’s well aware of the inappropriateness, the corruption that exists,” Sgt Knight said of Majdalani.

“All of the evidence supports the hypothesis that Mr Majdalani was involved in the bringing in of the buprenorphine.”

Dubbo man Joshua Majdalani had money transferred into his bank account that was linked to Wellington jail inmates. Picture: Facebook/Joshua Majdalani

Defence barrister Matthew McAuliffe said there was an “absence of evidence” in the police case against Majdalani.

“No roster was tendered by the prosecution, the prosecution can’t even establish that he was present when the drugs were introduced,” Mr McAuliffe told the court.

No evidence was presented to show Majdalani provided the details of his mother’s PO Box to inmates or anyone, Mr McAuliffe said.

“The evidence suggests an absence of knowledge,” he said,

“There is nothing in the evidence that can establish that Mr Majdalani knew that the PO Box was to be used somehow to introduce buprenorphine.”

Mr McAuliffe said the Wickr message Ms Sandhu saw was received in January 2020, two months after the search of cell 86 was conducted.

“The message is not proof that Mr Majdalani received those payments for a corrupt purpose,” he said.

“The items could have been introduced by anyone in a myriad of ways.”

Magistrate Stephen Olischlager dismissed two supply prohibited drugs charges police laid against Majdalani and said there was no evidence to suggest Majdalani supplied the 3.37 grams of oxymetholone and 8.59 grams of stanozolol to inmates.

He was found guilty of the charges of taking part in the supply of a small quantity of bupe strips and being an agent who corruptly received a benefit.

Joshua Majdalani’s case was dealt with in the Narromine Local Court. Picture: Ryan Young

Magistrate Olischlager said “the only way the inmates knew details of the PO Box was through Mr Majdalani”.

“They obviously had confidence that the person who had access to that PO Box would facilitate delivery of drugs into the correctional centre,” he said.

“That person could have only been Mr Majdalani.”

Magistrate Olischlager said because Majdalani made details of the PO Box known to inmates, he took part in the supply of the bupe, also known as Suboxone strips.

“The circumstantial case is overwhelming,” Magistrate Olischlager said.

“He received numerous payments over a period of time that were clearly from the inmates. I reject the proposition that Mr Majdalani’s account was hacked.

“He took advantage of his position as a correctional officer.”

Magistrate Olischlager said the money transferred to Majdalani was “inducement or reward” from inmates for his role in enabling the supply of the bupe strips into Wellington jail.

After psychological and sentencing assessment reports were ordered, the case was adjourned to February 25 for Majdalani to be sentenced for the charge of corruptly receiving a benefit, along with other charges of unauthorised firearm possession, dealing with $27,000 suspected of being proceeds of crime and cocaine supply charges which he previously pleaded guilty to.