Harris Engine Motorsports owner Muhamed Ammouri bailed on drug lab charges

Police uncovered a drug lab inside a Revesby mechanic shop in March 2024. Two days later the building was set on fire by unknown arsonists. Detectives say they now know why.

A mechanic accused of running a clandestine drug lab out of his Revesby workshop was busted using footage from his own internal CCTV camera, which was later the target of a deliberate arson attack, a court has heard.

Police allege Harris Engine Motorsports co-owner Muhamed Ammouri was captured on his own business’s high quality surveillance cameras helping a colleague cook more than 11 kgs of methamphetamine over a three-week period in early 2024.

According to documents tendered to the NSW Supreme Court, detectives raided the Milperra Road property on March 4, seizing the homemade meth, several precursor chemicals and industrial lab equipment.

The premises was still under police guard 48 hours later when two unknown persons snuck onto the top of the building, cut a hole in the roof above the office and set fire to a hard drive containing months worth of CCTV footage from inside the shop.

Ammouri was arrested in May and charged with allowing the property to be used as a drug premises and handling an explosive without the required security clearance.

Revesby mechanic Muhamed Ammouri, the co-owner of Harris Engine Motorsports, was granted strict conditional bail.

He was granted conditional bail at the time but rearrested in September after police were able to recover the video files from the CCTV hard drive.

The 40-year-old father of two was hit with further charges of commercial drug manufacturing and participating in a criminal group, with police alleging the high quality video footage showed Ammouri was actively involved in the day-to-day operations of the meth lab.

Ammouri was not charged in relation to the subsequent fire, which remains unresolved.

He spent three months behind bars on remand before being granted bail by the NSW Supreme Court last week on a $1m surety.

Ammouri’s barrister, Ben Barrack, told the court his client was the sole income earner in the family, which had been put in a dire financial position with his incarceration.

He said the family risked losing their house and the business if Ammouri was not released from custody and allowed to return to work.

Prosecutors opposed Ammouri’s application, arguing the case against him was “extremely strong, if not overwhelming”.

Police allege unknown persons tried to burn a hard drive containing CCTV footage of what was occurring inside the premises. Picture: Richard Dobson

Fire and Rescue NSW on the scene of the building fire, 48 hours after police uncovered a drug lab inside the Revesby mechanic shop. Picture: Richard Dobson

“The crown submits his detention is justified by the strength of the crown case and highly objective seriousness of the charges and allegations,” they said in written submissions tendered to the court.

Justice Hament Dhanji agreed to grant bail on strict conditions which include daily reporting to police, a home detention condition unless he is working or attending legal appointments, and around-the-clock electronic ankle monitoring.

The court heard police have arrested five other men in connection with the drug lab, and are currently seeking to extradite a sixth person from Turkey.

Ammouri’s case will return to court on February 5.