Lugarno's Belal Bill el Bader sentenced for taking part in drug manufacturing after police raid Moorebank warehouse

When police raided a warehouse in southwest Sydney they uncovered a sophisticated drug lab that took up almost two floors. Now one of the men involved has learnt his fate.

Belal Bill EL Bader.

A father of three has been warned by a judge to stay away from a life of crime after he was charged when police raided a “sophisticated clandestine” lab in which mixing vats and drugs were found.

Belal Bill El Bader, 45, fronted Campbelltown District Court via video link for sentencing after he pleaded guilty to two counts of taking part in manufacturing a prohibited drug.

Further charges of taking part in manufacturing a prohibited drug and a charge of possessing a precursor intending to use in manufacture or production were also taken into account on sentencing.

He admitted to be involved in the making of 16.2kg of pure MDP2P, 2.021kg pure amphetamine and 0.6kg of amphetamine where the purity could not be determined.

,He also admitted to possessing 43.8kg of MDA with intent to make the recreational drugs MDA, known as a love drug, and MDMA, known as molly.

Police uncovered a large clandestine laboratory in Sydney's southwest. Pictures: NSW Police

El Bader was arrested in September 2020 after police raided a Moorebank warehouse and uncovered a drug lab that took up almost two floors.

They also found a number of 200L drums which retained residual amounts of various chemicals.

A camera set up by police captured El Bader entering the rented facility multiple times over three and a half weeks, spending a total of 68 hours inside the warehouse.

In delivering her judgment, Judge Tanya Smith noted El Bader’s early plea of guilty, that his criminal record had one matter from 20 years ago and that he had remained drug-free since being taken into custody on remand in 2020.

She said a “powerful” subjective case had been delivered on behalf of El Bader who had been diagnosed with bipolar and substance abuse disorder.

“The offender’s mother suffered significant mental health issues … the offender witnessed his mother trying to take her own life … he kept her alive,” Judge Smith said.

“It was an extremely traumatic event … he describes it as a memory he cannot escape.”

El Bader was charged after police set up a covert operation.

Judge Smith said El Bader’s role was a “manual labourer” that helped transport relevant items.

“However in terms of what occurred inside the unit I could not be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt what particular acts he performed,” she said.

“There is the additional feature that the offender made a financial contribution in terms of a lease payment on one occasion.”

The court heard that before his arrest El Bader ran the family business in fruit and vegetable supply alongside his brothers, which had taken a severe financial hit since Covid.

In statements made to a psychiatrist and community corrections, it was put that El Bader did not gain any ‘payment for his actions but did so as a long-term connection or friend faced retribution or harm, but this was untested in court.

Police seized a number of items relating to the drug lab set up.

“As I mentioned at the sentence hearing it is hard to understand why a family man otherwise of good character would be prepared to jeopardise everything by involving himself in prolonged, extremely serious criminal acts over weeks simply to assist someone else being a family friend being a family friend and or a long term associate,” she said.

“I am unable to determine beyond reasonable doubt what the offender’s motivation was.”

On sentencing, Judge Smith took into consideration special circumstances, El Bader’s attempts to rehabilitate and his remorse.

“The offender in his letter to the court talks about feeling sick that he was part of the world that contributes to the destruction of people’s lives,” she said.

El Bader was sentenced to six years and two months in jail with a non-parole period of three years and two months. This was backdated to the day of his arrest September 9, 2020 and he will be eligible for parole in November.

After delivering her decision, Judge Smith warned El Bader to ensure he did not find himself before the court again.

“You need to ensure that you continue to address your drug issues and also your mental health issues,” she said.