Badwee Abdul Ahad granted bail on disqualified driving, dangerous driving charges
A Sydney man whose side hustle is renting luxury cars has faced court for the first time after police allegedly uncovered multiple clips of him allegedly hooning while disqualified.
Fairfield
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A luxury car hire subcontractor has vowed to fight a number of allegations he filmed himself driving dangerously through western Sydney while disqualified, which were then posted online to his personal social media account.
Guildford man Badwee Abdul Ahad, 25, was charged with 17 alleged offences, including nine of driving disqualified, four of using a phone while driving and four of dangerous driving, after police began investigating a number of videos shared to his personal Instagram account.
They allege the videos, filmed while behind the wheel, depict him careening through western Sydney in luxury cars at double and triple the speed limit throughout April.
Abdul Ahad is disqualified from driving until 2027.
The videos in question, seen by The Daily Telegraph, are filmed from the perspective of the driver and show the steering wheel and speedometer as well as the road ahead.
Police say they uncovered nine alleged incidents of Abdul Ahad allegedly driving dangerously at Villawood, Chester Hill and Punchbowl and Merrylands – including one where Abdul Ahad allegedly drove a BMW sedan at 155 km/h in a 50 zone in Guildford on April 4, and later at 144 km/h in a 60 zone in Bankstown.
Abdul Ahad faced Parramatta Local Court on Friday from custody to make an application for bail, supported by his father and brothers.
The court heard there was an “overwhelming” amount of evidence against Abdul Ahad, including CCTV from two service stations, and that there was an unacceptable risk of causing harm to the community if he were to be released from custody.
High profile criminal lawyer Mohamad Sakr of Truth Layers said his client strenuously denied that he was the one driving in the clips shared to social media.
Mr Sakr also said he would be contesting the charges, given the videos do not show a face or any identifying features to prove it was his client behind the wheel.
He then claimed the officer who charged his client had dealt with him for a prior matter, and alleged he came across the videos by pure coincidence and strategically waited before arresting him.
The court heard Abdul Ahad was disqualified from driving from an earlier conviction he was serving an intensive corrections order for, and was more than a year into completing.
Abdul Ahad also had a side hustle as a subcontractor renting out luxury cars, he told the court.
A $20,000 surety was also offered in exchange for bail.
Abdul Ahad was granted bail with conditions including a 6pm to 6am curfew.
He will next face court in Bankstown on May 1.
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