Susan Alameddine convicted over Nowra jail contraband trafficking
Susan Alameddine wanted to make her inmate brother‘s life ‘easier’ when she gave a prison guard drugs and a phone to smuggle into Nowra jail.
The South Coast News
Don't miss out on the headlines from The South Coast News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A mother-of-two has avoided jail after paying a prison guard $5000 to smuggle drugs hidden inside balloons into jail on behalf of her incarcerated brother.
A forlorn looking Susan Alameddine, 33, from Greenacre sat with her arms crossed as she faced Parramatta District Court via video link on Friday after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice; two counts of supplying a prohibited drug; possession of a prohibited drug; failing to comply with Covid-19 directions.
Judge David Arnott sentenced Alameddine to a 30 month intensive corrections and ordered she forfeit $3000 in cash, which was found by police during a search of her home.
He also ordered Alameddine psychological and psychiatric counselling for “identity and self esteem” issues.
The court heard the psychology drop out organised for 41g of the drug commonly known as ice to be smuggled into prison to make her “brother’s life easier” while on the inside.
The court heard the drugs were packaged in coloured balloons and intended to be sold to other inmates.
Judge David Arnott told the court the siblings share a “close bond” and Alameddine has a “problem saying no” to her brother.
He told the court Alameddine was at a “crossroads in her life” at the time of her offending and was using cannabis daily.
Alameddine and her brother, Ahmed, were charged earlier this year after police listened in to his phone calls from the South Coast Correctional Centre earlier this year.
The court heard the siblings made multiple calls to each other to organise the drugs and how much they would cost.
Judge Arnott told the court Alameddine then met Nowra prison officer Stephen Adams, who he said was motivated by money, at Vincentia Beach, where the drugs and phone were exchanged, the court heard.
The court heard Adams had smuggled the drugs, phone and a charger into prison for Ahmed “between his buttocks”.
Adams, who was convicted earlier this year, then left the phone on a bench in the hygiene workshop of the prison for another inmate to collect, court documents state.
The court heard Alameddine was on bail at the time of the offences, after being convicted for falsely reporting the theft of her car to police after it fled the scene of a crash while being driven by a family member.
Judge Arnott told the court Alameddine had a “strict and authoritarian” father, and had survived two abusive marriages, and had since been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder.
He told the court, while she had shown “little remorse” when arrested, she had since expressed contrition for her offending.
Man charged after serious South Coast crash
A man has been charged after a serious crash on the state’s south coast last year, which resulted in three people being hospitalised. Here’s what we know.
What commercial fishers are doing to protect the humpback highway
With thousands of whales about to hit the “humpback highway”, commercial fishermen are trialling new gear to stop them from becoming entangled. Read what they’re doing here.