Alleged Ghost app users Hussein Lalee, Cameron Watson denied bail, as mate Gerald Gamboa released from custody

A court has heard police allege Hussein Lalee went by the handle ‘Underworld’ on the Ghost app and was organising cannabis deals when he wasn’t building homes in Sydney.

A Gledswood Hills builder accused of using a secret “underworld” phone app to plan a sophisticated drug trafficking operation could miss the birth of his third child after a Sydney court on Friday refused his plea for bail.

Hussein Lalee, 34, is facing charges of trafficking a marketable quantity of cannabis and attempting to supply a prohibited firearm, after he was swept up in Australian Federal Police raids last week targeting alleged users of the Ghost encrypted communication platform.

Lalee, who police allege was the user of the handle “Underworld” on the app, was among dozens arrested in the raids, including the alleged inventor of the platform, Sydney tech nerd Jay Je Yoon Jung.

Police will allege Jung had an Indian tech firm create the app which he then installed on specially configured mobile phone devices that were sold to alleged underworld figures around the world via dedicated and trusted resellers.

Police allege Lalee, Mortlake man Cameron Lance Watson, 24, Dulwich Hill’s Sameer Sadiq, 31, and Ashfield man Gerald Gamboa, 26, each had a dedicated Ghost phone and were part of a syndicate that used the secret app to traffic in large quantities of cannabis.

Gerald Gamboa, 26, from Ashfield, was granted bail. Picture: Facebook

All four men were remanded in custody after their arrest, with all but Sadiq making applications for bail in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on Friday.

Only Gamboa was successful, with prosecutors unopposed to his release on strict conditions.

The court heard police allege Gamboa played the role of “runner” in the syndicate, allegedly responsible for delivering drugs at the behest of those higher up the food chain.

Meanwhile, Lalee’s family offered almost half a million dollars in surety to secure his release, with defence barrister AJ Karim saying Lalee was the sole income-earner for the family and needed to be at liberty to continue his work as a builder.

The court heard he employed up to three contractors, whose jobs were at risk if he was remanded in custody.

Australian Federal Police officers made dozens of arrests across Australia last week in sweeping raids targeting alleged users of the Ghost encrypted app. Photo: AFP

Mr Karim also said Lalee’s wife was heavily pregnant with their third child and needed her husband at home as she approached her birthing date.

The court heard police will allege Lalee was the user of the handle “Underworld” on the Ghost app, and was involved in planning, organising and directing others in the supply of the cannabis.

It is also alleged he sent a picture of a gun to a co-accused via the app, with the number “$28,000”.

The court heard his co-accused allegedly responded by writing “that looks sick bro but I wouldn’t know what to do with it”.

Police will allege a raid on Lalee’s house uncovered $90,000 in cash and the sawn-off barrel of a firearm, while a search of a second property in Liverpool, which police allege was a safe house linked to Lalee and the syndicate, revealed a bucket of ammunition.

In refusing bail, Magistrate Jennifer Price said Lalee had not demonstrated that his ongoing detention wasn’t justified.

She said there appeared to be a strong case linking him to the mobile phone device associated with the Ghost app.

Officers seized drugs (above), cash, weapons and mobile phones during the widespread raids. Picture: AFP

Meanwhile, Watson’s legal team, led by barrister Greg Stanton, conceded the case against their client appeared a strong one on the current evidence before the court.

Mr Stanton said Watson would agree to strict bail conditions if released from custody, arguing the case was likely to take up to three years before it came to trial.

“The delay in this matter will be extreme,” he said.

Magistrate Price refused bail on account of the seriousness of the allegations, finding Watson had not shown his detention was unjustified.

All cases will return to court in November.

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