George Chambour: Roselands local granted bail in alleged AN0M drug case

A man who police allege hatched a daring plot to flee Australia after he found out cops were closing in on him has been granted bail. Find out why.

An alleged drug trafficker who is accused of attempting to flee Australia after he discovered the cops were closing in on him has been granted bail.

Roselands local George Chambour was arrested on June 7, 2021. Police will allege he was involved in the trafficking of a commercial quantity of methamphetamine throughout NSW after drugs were seized in a tow truck on the Central Coast and in a Seven Hills warehouse.

The 37-year-old was one of the many Operation Ironside arrests where police were secretly following a trail of messages on the ANOM app — a trojan horse set up by the Australian Federal Police and FBI to monitor criminal networks.

Last September, the court heard Chambour allegedly discussed fleeing Australia by escaping to Indonesia through Queensland.

He allegedly considered paying a criminal called “Coconut” to help him reach the Middle East, travelling first through Indonesian waters, for the hefty price of $500,000.

George Chambour leaving Parramatta Local Court.

In court, Chambour’s defence lawyer, Elie Rahme, said the prosecution’s case rested on proving Chambour was actually the one using the ANOM usernames “Putin” and “20 top”.

“There are 61 cases where the personal mobile phone of Mr Chambour is in a separate location to the device which is using the ANOM encrypted service,” Mr Rahme said.

Police arresting George Chambour as part of Operation Ironside.

But Justice Peter Hamill SC described this as being “as common as muck”.

“He wouldn’t be the first massive drug importer to have more than one encrypted device,” Justice Hamill said.

The court also heard Chambour’s father suffered a severe stroke earlier this year and will need someone to drive him to medical appointments.

Chambour’s family members also offered a $5 million bond — breaking this bond would cost his parents their life savings, the court heard.

But the prosecution said Chambour’s alleged links to international criminal figures could facilitate access to large amounts of money.

They also alleged Chambour previously had “sophisticated and detailed plans in place” to flee Australia.

Today George Chambour was granted strict conditional bail.

Justice Hamill told the court the allegations against Chambour carry a maximum of life imprisonment.

“The allegations in this case are very serious,” Justice Hamill said. “They involve drug trafficking of great sophistication and involving massive quantities of a very dangerous and pernicious substance.”

Justice Hamill also noted Chambour’s number of previous violent offences and risk of flight, but he said strict bail conditions could help mitigate these risks.

Chambour’s previous application for bail on November 25, 2021, was denied by the Supreme Court.

Today, Chambour was granted bail on strict conditions, including not leaving his residential address unless he is attending a medical appointment with his father or a prearranged meeting with his lawyer.

He will return to court in September.