Maher Aouli: Comanchero airport brawler snared in AN0M sting

Despite telling a court he’d left his bikie days behind, a Comanchero jailed over the infamous Sydney Airport brawl allegedly had a “life member” patch seized when his home was raided over an alleged cocaine bust.

A former Comanchero previously jailed over the notorious Sydney Airport brawl in 2009 has been revealed to allegedly be one of the men behind a failed 178kg importation of cocaine from Brazil to Newcastle.

Maher Aouli was denied bail in the Supreme Court after putting up $5 million as a surety four months after being arrested as part of the AFP’s groundbreaking AN0M sting.

On Friday the court heard Aouli was one of several Comanchero members jailed for the manslaughter of Hells Angel bikie Anthonry Zervas when the two groups violently clashed inside the terminal more than a decade ago.

The fatal encounter sparked years of increased police scrutiny on bikie gangs and Aouli was jailed for five years over his role in the fatal brawl.

CCTV footage of Aouli’s Comanchero contingent at the now infamous deadly airport brawl in 2009.

He was released on parole in 2012 after serving three years behind bars.

Aouli was one of several Comancheros, along with Mick Hawi, on the fateful Melbourne to Sydney flight that set off the confrontation with Hells Angels president Derek Wainohu.

Despite telling a judge at the time he turned his back on the gang, the AFP now alleges they located a “life member” Comanchero patch when they raided his Bathurst St home in relation to the drug bust.

His arrest came after $64 million worth of cocaine was seized in Belgium earlier this year hidden inside the sea chest of a tanker from Brazil that police tied to Aouli and Bondi fitness instructor Julian Lee, 41.

Fitness instructor Lee, 41. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Flavio Brancaleone

Both were allegedly discussing the plan on what they thought were encrypted AN0M devices, only for it to be later revealed as a police Trojan horse where every message could be viewed by officers.

The AFP alleges Aouli was behind the handles “Pop Smoke” and “Tom Ford” on the platform and knocked back his defence barrister’s claim the identity of the user was in doubt after it emerged a long time friend outed him to police as the man behind the device.

ASIC documents from “Tom Ford Holdings” were also located in his home, police allege, but Aouli’s defence barrister argued the company is registered to his brother who also stays at the property.

Aouli’s sister and friend were willing to put up $5 million worth of property to secure his release although his legal team decided not to push for an ankle monitor as part of bail conditions.

Some of the drugs seized by police in Belgium bound for Newcastle.

That came as another man caught in an unrelated AN0M sting – Mostafa Baluch – allegedly cut off his bracelet and spent days on the run after putting up $4 million for bail.

On Friday the court heard Aouli and Lee allegedly conspired to import the cargo of drugs into Newcastle from Brazil where they would arrange for an expert dive team or a sea drone with robotic arms to remove the packages from the water unbeknown to police.

He is facing a potential life sentence if convicted on charges of conspiring to import a commercial quantity of cocaine, directing a criminal group and trafficking a marketable quantity of cocaine in a separate import.

Justice Stephen Campbell denied him bail and sent his case back to Central Local Court.

Alleged plan to ‘sink’ $64m of cocaine thwarted by AN0M: court

By Anton Rose, November 18, 2021

A Sydney man allegedly conspired to import 178kg of cocaine into Australia by shipping it and then having a crack dive team retrieve the drugs from the water.

The allegations emerged in the Supreme Court on Thursday as Commonwealth prosecutors fought to keep Maher Aouli behind bars on remand amid a string of bail controversies in unrelated matters linked to the AN0M Trojan horse sting.

The court heard Aouli and others were allegedly involved in a conspiracy to bring the drugs by sea before the cargo would be sent underwater and either a professional dive team or a sea drone would be deployed to collect it.

Aouli’s lawyer argued police could not conclusively prove he was behind the AN0M username “Tom Ford” or “Pop Smoke”.

The group, along with thousands of others, were snagged by the AFP after it was revealed the encrypted AN0M app they had been allegedly using to discuss the import was actually being run by Aussie law enforcement and the FBI in America.

Aouli’s barrister Avni Djemal argued police could not prove the AN0M device under the handles “Tom Ford” and “Pop Smoke” were linked to him because their location data encompassed most of central Sydney and hundreds of thousands of people.

Police allegedly located documents inside Aouli’s unit linked to Tom Ford Holdings but ASIC records show the company was owned by his brother, the court heard. No allegations of wrongdoing are made on the part of Aouli’s brother.

The court heard police allege Aouli’s friend of 20 years outed him as the name behind the AN0M device.

Commonwealth prosecutor Ingrid Ibbett said a friend of Aouli’s for the last 25 years was spoken to by police about his communications with the usernames on the app when he allegedly told them one was Aouli.

Mr Djemal was preparing to propose electronic monitoring of Aouli as a bail condition but changed his position.

Electronic ankle monitors have been in the spotlight recently after another alleged AN0M user Mostafa Baluch cut his loose days after being granted $4 million bail in an unrelated matter and spent days on the run before being arrested in a shipping container at the Queensland border.

Both Aouli’s sister and a long time friend prepared to put their homes up as surety for his release, which would see him living under strict conditions akin to house arrest.

Justice Stephen Campbell will hand down his decision on Friday.