‘Mr Worldwide’ Steven Elmir jailed over conspiracy to import drugs

Steven Elmir fled Sydney after a gang shootout to become a global drug smuggler. Instead he was tortured by police in Dubai and has now been sentenced to a long Australian jail term.

An international drug smuggler known by the codename ‘Mr Worldwide’ says he was tortured by police in Dubai, who tasered his genitalia and held him in a cell with no windows for more than two years.

Steven Elmir was jailed for a minimum of 14 years by Judge Dina Yehia on Friday, after negotiating the movement of massive stockpiles of prime quality drugs that were stationed around the world.

Elmir was caught up in the major plot to smuggle more than 1.9 tonnes of illicit drugs from the Netherlands in August 2017, after he was introduced to an undercover officer by Michael Ibrahim, the brother of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim.

Steven Fawaz Elmir.

Elmir says he was tortured in Dubai.

Posing as a criminal, the undercover cop said he could traffic illicit goods into Australia using a secret “door”.

After he was introduced to the officer —– Elmir used encrypted messaging over a BlackBerry, under the moniker “Mr Worldwide” — to facilitate the sourcing of drugs from trusted drug syndicates, including one known as the “Dutch crew”, over a period of four-and-a-half months.

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.

“I am not satisfied Elmir was at the apex of the Dutch syndicate,” Judge Yehia said on Friday.

“He was not a member but was highly trusted as evidenced by the autonomy in the planning, logistics and arrangement (of the drugs).

“He was the linchpin … he not only brokered the transactions, he engaged with the parties in each phase, and he was highly trusted.”

A drug shipment that was picked up from the Netherlands as part of Operation Veyda.

Judge Yehia said it was clear Elmir was “at all times autonomous” and acted out of a desire of “greed” and financial gain.

Elmir was living in Dubai at the time of his involvement in the operation, having fled Sydney after a family member was killed in a gang shootout in 2016.

Elmir was arrested alongside Michael and others in Dubai on August 8, 2017, after the two separate drug consignments in The Netherlands were seized.

On Friday, it was revealed Elmir was physically tortured by police in Dubai for four days after his arrest, where his genitalia were tasered and he was repeatedly beaten.

He spent two years in custody in Dubai for a “civil debt” he was unaware of, before Australian Federal Police could extradite him back to home soil.

The court heard he suffered “horrific and inhumane” conditions in Dubai prison. He was confined to a small cell with no yard time and no sunlight, while the fluorescent lights were left on 24/7.

“During his two years and three months in Dubai custody, he was held in a state of uncertainty … and his mental and physical well being significantly declined,” Judge Yehia said.

Elmir fled Sydney after a gang shooting in 2016.

He was eventually extradited in 2019, and pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.

In sentencing Elmir, Judge Yehia took into account his childhood trauma and prospects of rehabilitation, sentencing him to a maximum jail term of 24 years, with a non-parole period of 14 years.

He will be eligible for release to parole in 2031.

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 in 2020.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Kirsty Schofield said Operation Veyda, which brought down the syndicate, sends a clear message to organised criminal groups that, no matter where you are in the world, you are not out of reach.

“We know the crippling effect illegal drugs, including MDMA, cocaine and crystal

methamphetamine have on our communities,” she said.

“Stopping these drugs from entering our shores is a high priority for the AFP.”