Wade Habkouk faces court over heroin haul in mixers from Kuala Lumpur

A Sydney builder charged over a 350kg heroin haul that would have led to 1.1 million street deals is expected to miss his son’s first birthday while in custody.

A builder charged over the biggest heroin bust in two decades will most likely remain in custody for his only son’s first birthday.

Mount Colah man Wade Habkouk’s case was briefly heard in Parramatta Local Court on Saturday, after he was charged in connection with the importation of 350kg worth of heroin that police say would have equated to 1.1 million deals on the street.

A 29-year-old Sydney man is arrested on Friday. Picture: AFP/ABF/NSW Police

Habkouk, 29, is accused of trying to access some of the $156 million worth of drugs in February via a storage facility in Hornsby, north of Sydney.

Police will allege drugs were concealed inside a consignment of vertical mixers that arrived via air cargo from Malaysia.

Lawyers representing Habkouk, who became a father in October, did not apply for bail and it was formally refused.

He did not appear before the court.

AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Morgen Blunden said this was the largest seizure of heroin in Australia in almost two decades, and if the drugs had not been intercepted, the impact on the community would have been devastating.

Police said the $1.56 million heroin haul equated to more than 1.1 million street deals. Picture: AFP/ABF/NSW Police

“Illicit drug use causes a significant burden to the Australian economy, through crime, loss of productivity, emergency treatment and increased health care costs,” Detective Acting Superintendent Blunden said.

“Sadly, heroin causes many deaths and this seizure has protected our community from harm.

“We will continue to work closely with our partners to prevent this harm from occurring.”

Mobile handsets, knives, handcuffs and a small amount of testosterone were seized during a raid on the man’s home Friday.

Company records indicate Habkouk is the director of Shoreview Building Group, which is registered to the Mt Colah home he owns and at which he was arrested.

His Facebook profile reveals he had got married in 2018 and his wife gave birth to their son last year.

“Wade Habkouk has been involved in the construction industry,” his company website says.

“Wade quickly realised this was his passion in life and after years of learning the art of building, he went on to attain his builders licence.

“Wade never looked back and has now established a distinguished and successful career in the building industry for more than 15 years.”

He will appear in Central Local Court October 27.

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