Sydney tradie Steven Audish charged with large commercial drug supply over 2kg cocaine find

Court documents said police missed 2kg worth of cocaine hidden inside a car being driven by Audish when he was originally arrested. They say they only discovered it after examining encrypted conversations on Audish’s mobile phone.

Steven Audish, 25, has been released on conditional bail by the NSW Supreme Court on a commercial drug supply charge after police allegedly discovered 2kg of cocaine hidden in a concealed compartment inside the car he was driving. Picture: Facebook

A Sydney tradie arrested in a ‘dial-a-dealer’ drug sting has had his charges significantly upgraded after police belatedly found more than half a million dollars worth of cocaine in his car.

Steven Audish, a 25-year-old construction worker who lives with his parents and has no prior criminal record, was arrested on the afternoon of July 24 following a day of surveillance by detectives, who had been watching him as part of an investigation into a ‘dial-a-dealer’ drug syndicate operating in western Sydney.

Officers seized the black Honda that Audish had been driving and searched his home, allegedly discovering mobile phones, $7000 in cash and 61 grams of cocaine.

Audish was initially charged with indictable drug supply and dealing with proceeds of crime and granted conditional bail at the time.

However, the NSW Supreme Court heard he was re-arrested by detectives in August after they allegedly discovered encrypted conversations on one of his mobile phones indicating there was a further 2kg of cocaine secreted inside the Honda.

Police allege Audish communicated with an associate using the encrypted app Threema.

It is alleged Audish told a friend via the encrypted app Threema that he had “a new brick coming in soon” - which police allege is reference to cocaine - and described the product as “off its head”, telling the associate “lmk [let me know] if you need cause this is running out fast”.

According to court documents, Audish also sent pictures of two white rectangular objects wrapped in plastic, which had blue pieces of paper on top showing a ‘Toyota’ logo and the letters ‘TA’.

Officers researched the Honda, allegedly uncovering 2kgs of cocaine in a Woolworths shopping bag that had been hidden in a concealed compartment in the boot of the car.

Police allege the cocaine had an estimated street value of $676,650.

Audish was hit with a fresh large commercial drug supply charge and refused bail.

He spent almost two months in custody before being granted Supreme Court bail last month.

His barrister, Ben Barrack, argued the case against his client regarding the new commercial supply charge was not a strong one, saying the prosecution would struggle to prove that Audish was the person responsible for sending the messages on Threema.

He conceded the case involving the initial cocaine seizure was strong, but said Audish was unlikely to receive a full-time jail sentence if convicted of those charges.

Audish must abide by strict bail conditions including home detention and daily reporting to police.

Mr Barrack said Audish would agree to abide by strict conditions while on bail including daily reporting to police, home detention and a prohibition on using the internet or social media.

His family also agreed to lodge a $30,000 cash surety to ensure Audish turns up to court.

In an affidavit to the court, Audish’s sister said the charges against her brother had come as a shock to the family, who settled in Australia in 2004 after fleeing war-torn Iraq via Lebanon.

She described her brother as “very kind-hearted, intelligent and hard working” and said he’d been left scared by witnessing drug use, violent assaults and stand-over tactics used by inmates while in custody.

Justice Sarah McNaughton agreed to release Audish, finding the bail conditions would reduce the risk of him committing further offences.

The case will return to court on December 5. Audish is yet to enter a plea to the charges.