How Aussie police nabbed international drug runner Mr Worldwide

Sydney drug smuggler Steven Elmir bragged about how he knew corrupt customs officials across the globe, but the story of how Aussie police brought him undone can now be revealed.

A Sydney man arrested over his role in an international drug ring boasted to an undercover cop that he knew corrupt freight workers and customs officials across Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan.

And Steven Elmir – known to his associates as Mr Worldwide – also said once some drugs had been smuggled into Australia by the gang he would wait until summertime to sell “when everyone started partying” in order to maximise his profits.

But instead of making a fortune in the illegal drug trade the 34-year-old is now facing the possibility of years behind bars when he is sentenced in the NSW District Court in October.

An agreed fact sheet only recently signed by Elmir while in custody states he first became involved in the 2017 plot when he was introduced to the undercover officer by Michael Ibrahim, the brother of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim.

John Ibrahim had nothing to do with his sibling’s offending.

Posing as a crook with form, the undercover officer had said he could traffic illicit goods into Australia using a secret “door”.

Michael Ibrahim told him that Elmir, who was based in Dubai at the time, could source drugs from all over the world including Europe, Asia and South America.

Ibrahim suggested to the undercover officer that they offer the services of his “door” to Elmir and his associates in The Netherlands for a 20 per cent fee of the total amounts to be imported.

The fact sheet states after striking a deal the undercover officer worked with Elmir, Ibrahim and others to smuggle about one tonne of MDMA, 136kg of cocaine and 15kg of ice in two separate shipments from The Netherlands.

Drug smuggler Steven Elmir was known as Mr Worldwide.

John Ibrahim’s brother Michael Ibrahim introduced Elmir to the undercover officer.

These drugs were to be divided up once successfully imported into Australia.

The undercover officer claimed they were going to be shipped by sea, but they were actually seized by authorities in secret and never made it onto the country’s streets.

After the first drug shipment was done an excited Elmir texted the undercover officer about the possibility of more deals in the future and bragged about his access to corrupt shipping workers and customs officials overseas.

“Mad brother I think we do some big things together,” he wrote.

“Even (in) Asia we are very strong brother we have ff (freight forwarder) and customs on side in Thai, Malaysia, Taiwan16 (sic).

“We already have things happening from these places so whatever comes up that you think is good let me know and we’ll get it done.”

Michael Ibrahim outside his home in Sydney

Some of the 800kg of MDMA seized by police in relation to the Elmir case.

The relevance of that message for Elmir‘s sentencing is disputed by his legal team.

Before the first shipment Ibrahim had asked Elmir what he was going to get for his share of the drugs in Australia, to which Elmir responded he would try to get “thirty” but if he couldn’t get that he would keep it until the summer “when everyone started partying”.

The fact sheet also provides an insight into the inner workings of the syndicate trying to ink a deal while texting each other.

During the negotiations Elmir texted the undercover officer: “Speaking to Dutch crew youse putting on 100 and me a hundred do youse mind if they put 300 so 500 al up works out better for youse eat more off the door”, to which the cop replied: “Hey bro nah I don’t like u said that’s better for us”.

The document states at this stage the container was intended to contain 50kg MDMA for the undercover officer, 50kg MDMA for Ibrahim, 100kg MDMA for Elmir and 300kg MDMA for the Dutch syndicate.

At one point Elmir also told the undercover officer he had 300kg of ice waiting in Taiwan, which he said was a close journey home.

116kg of cocaine was also seized.

“Read below that’s my Taiwan side they ready to go brother stock is mine and paid for sitting there 300kg of eye (ice) so leyt me know we get both goin and have a big next couple of months also only couple weeks coming home by boat from Taiwan,” he said.

The relevance of that message about Taiwan is disputed by Elimr’s legal team.

Elmir and Ibrahim were later arrested in Dubai after the two separate drug consignments in The Netherlands had been seized.

Elmir, who has pleaded guilty to conspiring to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, consented to being extradited back to Australia in 2019.

He had originally gone overseas following a gangland shooting in Sydney in 2016 that claimed the life of a relative.

Michael Ibrahim pleaded guilty to multiple offences including conspiring to commit commercial drug importation and trafficking.

He was sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in jail last year.