Joshua Majdalani: Wellington jail guard’s ex gives evidence at hearing

A corrections officer, who was the ex-girlfriend of a coke dealing guard, has told a court “he lost his mind” after she took a pic of Wickr message on his phone.

A drug dealing former Wellington jail guard “lost his mind” while at a veterinarian’s office after he discovered his ex-girlfriend took a picture of a suspicious private message on his phone, a court has heard.

Dubbo man Joshua Travers Majdalani, 29, has pleaded guilty to supplying 25.1 grams of cocaine at Geurie, 30 kilometres east of Dubbo on May 5, 2020.

Joshua Majdalani denies supplying drugs to inmates at Wellington jail in exchange for cash. Picture: Corrective Services NSW

Earlier this year, he also pleaded guilty to possessing an unauthorised firearm and dealing with $27,000 in property which was suspected of being the proceeds of crime.

Mr Majdalani is yet to be convicted or sentenced for those charges because he has pleaded not guilty to multiple other charges, which relate to the alleged supply of drugs to inmates at Wellington jail.

He has also pleaded not guilty to a charge of being an agent who corruptly received $4200 in benefits from inmates or associates of inmates.

A two-day hearing into the allegations started in Dubbo Local Court in June and it continued for a third day in Narromine on Wednesday.

NSW Corrections officer and Mr Majdalani’s former girlfriend, Amrik Sandhu, was called to give evidence and she appeared via audiovisual link from Dubbo police station.

Ms Sandhu told the court the pair worked together at Wellington and lived together in Dubbo when they were in a relationship in 2019.

“Josh was involved with dealing of drugs,” she said the court.

“I’ve seen him do it. He would deal steroids and cocaine.

“He used to call it ‘Charlie’.”

The Wellington jail where Amrik Sandhu worked with Joshua Majdalani.

Ms Sandhu told the court Mr Majdalani sold cocaine to another Corrections officer and he used Snapchat and encrypted messaging service Wickr to arrange drug deals.

“I advised him that he should stop numerous times,” Ms Sandhu said.

“He said he didn’t care what happened and if he got caught and went to jail it wouldn’t bother him.”

Ms Sandhu recalled one incident in January 2020, where she saw Mr Majdalani’s phone “light up” while he was asleep.

After looking closer at the phone, Ms Sandhu said she saw a Wickr message come through from a user called “Wello confined”.

“It was along the lines of … ‘hey brother, how’s things it’s the big fella Jakey’s old celly’, something about spewing about a phone being taken and someone still owing $5k ($5000),” Ms Sandhu told the court.

“I took a photo of it and saved it to my files on my phone.”

Later in January, when Ms Sandhu and Mr Majdalani were at a veterinary business, he discovered the photo.

“He pretty much lost his mind in there,” Ms Sandhu told the court.

“He started accusing me of trying to sink him and then stormed out.

“He deleted it from my phone. He thought that I would dob him in.”

Defence barrister Matthew McAuliffe said it was accepted Mr Majdalani supplied cocaine and that the focus of the hearing was on the alleged corruption and supply of drugs, a mobile phone and tobacco to inmates at Wellington jail.

While being grilled by defence barrister Mr McAuliffe, Ms Sandu said she had no involvement in Mr Majdalani’s cocaine dealing and she denied using the drug herself.

“The truth is you were using cocaine as often as you could … Mr Majdalani’s dealing of cocaine would support both your habits,” Mr McAuliffe told Ms Sandhu.

She said “that’s not the truth”.

Ms Sandhu strenuously denied Mr McAuliffe’s suggestions that she “would weigh the cocaine” and put it in bags.

The hearing continues.