Mehdi Solhi: Former Iranian soldier jailed after trying to import meth hidden in honey jars into Sydney
An Iranian national has been sentenced to more than a decade in jail after trying to import ice, hidden in honey jars and car wax tubes, into Sydney.
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An Iranian asylum seeker, who tried to import meth into Australia hidden in honey jars and car wax tubes has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison.
Mehdi Solhi, 30, faced the NSW District Court for sentencing in Wollongong on Friday, after he admitted trying to import almost 9kg of ice into Sydney from Iran and Iraq.
Judge Chris O’Brien rejected Solhi’s claims he agreed to receive packages from someone in Iran because he was “lonely and wanted a connection to his homeland” after arriving in Australian in 2013.
“I reject that as nonsensical and implausible,” he said.
Judge O’Brien sentenced Solhi to a maximum prison term of 10 years and six months with a non-parole period of seven years and six months, finding he was the “end point” for the drug consignments, and that he intended to sell them for financial gain.
On Friday, the court heard Solhi, who previously served in the Iranian Army, arrived in Australia in 2013 after fleeing his country and family due to troubles with the intelligence arm of the government.
Solhi was arrested five years later in February 2018, after an AFP investigation revealed he had been trying to import methylamphetamine into the country.
According to court documents, Solhi began inquiring with a freight forwarding company in November 2017, using falsely subscribed mobile phones, concerning a consignment that had been sent from Iraq due to arrive in Sydney.
On December 2, the consignment full of car wax tubes arrived in Sydney from Iraq, containing more than 4.6kg of ice, and unbeknown to Solhi, had been seized by the Australian Federal Police.
Solhi made several inquiries both in person at the freight company’s Revesby office and via email about the whereabouts of the package until January 2018, when the company notified him it had been seized by the AFP.
At the same time, Solhi was also waiting for another consignment to arrive in Sydney, this time from Iran. The second consignment was again ice, but this time it had been hidden inside jars of honey.
The drugs, disguised as honey, arrived in the country on December 29, 2017, addressed to a Granville home.
The consignment was being handled by another freight company, and Solhi, along with an unknown associate made several inquiries about its whereabouts.
It too was seized by the AFP and found to contain 4.49kg of pure methamphetamine.
On February 21, 2018 police raided Solhi’s home after a lengthy investigation, where they found 94.7g of cannabis, 28.6g of opium, 0.07g of MDMA, digital scales, a container of empty capsules and a notebook with names and amounts inside.
On Friday, the court heard the lengthy police investigation relied on phone intercepts, which also revealed Solhi was supplying drugs between the periods of January 31, 2018, and the day he was arrested.
“It appears he was operating something akin to mobile drug delivery service principally in western suburbs of Sydney,” Judge O’Brien said.
“He was able to source drugs quickly and respond to customer requests without delay.”
Despite the defence previously arguing Solhi had no “actual knowledge” of what was in the consignments, Judge O’Brien rejected the claims, saying he was of the view Solhi knew exactly what was in them.
“While the importation enterprise might be regarded as somewhat unsophisticated, his role was important,” Judge O’Brien said.
“He was the end point for the drugs, he was upon receipt of drugs and the person to distribute them for profit.”
Solhi was supposed to go to trial over the allegations, but entered 11th hour guilty pleas to two charges including import and traffic commercial quantity of prohibited drug.
The court also heard that Solhi will be forced to return to Iran, with his visa to be cancelled following his sentence.
With time served Solhi will be eligible for release in August 2025.