Adam Issa and James Hancock spared prison for Sydney cocaine delivery
Two street dealers delivering cocaine for a criminal syndicate have been spared prison time, with one telling a court he struggled to say no to his older brother, the drug network‘s chief, who was jailed alongside his fiance in April.
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Two members of a Sydney dial-a-dealer syndicate have been spared prison, with one teenage compulsive gambler telling a judge he got involved to fuel his bets and the other saying he didn’t want to say no to his big brother.
But one of the dealers’ lawyers says he’s now “committed to leading a law abiding life”.
Adam Issa and James Anthony Hancock were street-level dealers drafted into a criminal network that disseminated tens of thousands of dollars of cocaine to the city’s cashed up drug users in early 2019.
Hancock delivered more than 100 bags of cocaine on more than 80 occasions.
He was just 18-years-old but a spiralling gambling addiction gave him all the motivation he needed to run the drugs across the suburbs, a court heard on Tuesday.
He was paid more than $5000 by the syndicate for his efforts.
For Issa, the cocaine ring was just the family business.
His older brother, Gabriel, ran the network with his fiance, Razija Adilovic.
They were supporting their own habits, paying back loans and spending money on surgeries for the elder Issa, who had lesions on his lungs.
They tried to keep their services professional – court documents reveal each driver was paid about $40 per bag, fuel and meals were reimbursed by the bosses.
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The nights would begin with the runners, who had been recruited by an insider, going to the elder Issa’s Campsie home to collect the product for people who had texted the syndicate and been allocated a “drink” or a “ticket”. They‘d drop the cash off at the end of the shift, minus their cut.
As the city geared up for one of its biggest parties, Gabriel, 25 at the time, texted potential customers.
“Mardi gras Eve is here! On all weekend from 12pm to 12am. NO CBD. Residential areas only. Road closures on Saturday so get in as early as you can! Be prepared and safe this weekend.”
He signed off with the pseudonym “Roger” and the rainbow emoji.
The younger Issa “found it difficult to say no to his brother”, Parramatta District Court heard on Tuesday when he and Hancock were sentenced.
But court documents reveal he was also in the grip of cocaine addiction and the dealing helped feed his habit.
He delivered 37g in about 70 deliveries netting $18,000 for the syndicate.
“I was doing so much cocaine I had to find a way to pay for it,” a doctor’s notes record him saying.
When Strike Force Bilbette swooped in March last year the network was up to about 10 members.
Issa and Hancock were both charged with being part of a criminal group and ongoing cocaine supply. Issa was also charged with possessing testosterone and dealing with the proceeds of crime.
They both pleaded guilty and, on Tuesday, were given two-year long terms of imprisonment to be served in the community.
They will have to do community service, avoid drugs and be of good behaviour in that time.
Mr Hancock’s high-profile lawyer, Abbas Soukie, toldThe Daily Telegraphhis client was happy to have avoided setting foot in prison saying the court had taken into account his steps toward rehabilitation and “relatively low role” in the network.
“The Court took into account Mr Hancock‘s young age and the positive life changes he has made since his out-of-character offending,” he said.
“He is pleased to remain in the community and now looks forward to focusing on his career and his family, and is committed to leading a law-abiding life“.
His legal team had told the court Hancock was a “young man, relatively immature and still emotionally undeveloped”.
When the media got hold of the story his extended family knew the apprentice who’d knuckled down to buy an investment property at just 18-years-old was a gambling addict slinging drugs to fuel his bets.
“The actions I took during this period have become a huge regret of mine,” he wrote in an apology letter to the court.
He spent 15 sleepless days on remand where he saw people taking drugs behind bars – he said it changed his ideas about his role as a dealer.
“I have also since realised the harm I have caused in the community by distributing drugs and supporting the illicit and cancerous drug trade in NSW,” he said.
The syndicate’s chiefs were not so lucky when they pleaded guilty to distributing 408g of cocaine.
In April 27-year-old Gabriel was sentenced to four years and one month jail and Adilovic, 26, to three years and four months in prison backdated to March 2019.
Non-parole periods of two years and six months, and two years and one month, were imposed respectively.
Issa will be eligible for parole on September 14, 2021, while Adilovic could be released on April 14, 2021.