Anthony Hatem, 27, of Lidcombe, caught supplying cocaine to customers in Manly

A police dog sniffed out a secret compartment in a drug dealer’s Mazda containing a stash of ‘coke’ meant for his customers on Sydney’s northern beaches.

Anthony Hatem, 27, of Lidcombe, leaving Manly Local Court on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, where he was convicted for supplying cocaine on the northern beaches. Picture: Manly Daily

A drug supplier who was found by a police dog to have a stash of 16 bags of cocaine in a secret compartment in his car has appeared in Manly Local Court.

Anthony Hatem, 27, of Lidcombe also had a knife, an extra mobile phone and a wad of cash when he was stopped by Northern Beaches Police in Manly on a Friday night in March.

Officers had earlier seen a person enter Hatem’s black Mazda sedan in Osborne Rd, which leads off East Esplanade Park on Manly Cove, and get out just moments later and walk into a nearby residence.

Police, believing a drug deal had taken place, followed Hatem’s car out of Manly before pulling him over on Warringah Rd at Beacon Hill.

He pleaded guilty to one count each of supply a prohibited drug, deal with the property proceeds of crime and custody of a knife in a public place.

Anthony Hatem, 27, of Lidcombe, leaving Manly Local Court on Wednesday, where he was convicted for supplying cocaine on the northern beaches. Picture: Manly Daily

In a facts sheets tendered to court police accused Hatem, a tradesman who specialises in silicone sealing, of driving in an erratic manner in an effort to elude the officer.

They stated that he was accelerating aggressively and constantly changing lanes on the journey between Manly and Beacon Hill.

Police asked Hatem why he was in Manly at 6.30pm on March 31. He replied that he was “just going out for a drive”.

He denied a police assertion that someone had entered his car in Manly. He then became nervous and began “fidgeting with his hands”, according to the facts sheet.

A police drug sniffer dog team was called to search Hatem’s car.

The dog discovered what police described as a “modified secret compartment” located within the car’s centre console.

Anthony Hatem, 27, of Lidcombe, leaving Manly Local Court on Wednesday. He will serve 12 months in home detention. Picture: Manly Daily

Officers found a clear resealable sandwich bag containing 16 smaller resealable bags, each containing cocaine, in the compartment.

They also turned up a folding knife with an 8cm blade, a Samsung mobile phone as well as a roll of $50 notes to the value of $250.

He denied knowledge of any of the items found in his car.

On Wednesday Magistrate Robyn Denes, who had convicted him at an earlier court appearance, sentenced him to 15 month in jail.

But Ms Denes ordered that he could serve that jail term in the community under an Intensive Corrections Order (ICO), supervised by parole authorities.

She also ordered that he serve 12 months of that ICO in home detention.