Michael Ibrahim claims undercover cop duped him into global drug ring
The brother of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim was the “linchpin” of a global drug ring and assured an undercover cop: “no one’s gonna rob me”, a court has heard.
Police & Courts
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- Crime kingpins accuse Michael Ibrahim of drug cash scam
- Ibrahim associate: ‘I was directed to smuggle drugs’
The brother of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim claims he never would have gotten so involved in a global drug ring if an undercover cop hadn’t duped him into it.
But prosecutors say Michael Ibrahim was the “linchpin” of a major syndicate involving a plot to smuggle nearly two tonnes of ecstasy into the country.
The 41-year-old claims he’s the victim of entrapment from an undercover officer but a prosecutor told his sentencing hearing that Ibrahim actively brought in many of his criminal contacts and bragged that “no one’s gonna rob me.”
“In terms of expanding the scope of the operation … it’s coming from the offender, not from (the undercover),” Lincoln Crowley QC told Downing Centre District Court.
“He is the glue that makes these pieces fit together and without him they can’t continue to operate.”
Ibrahim was nabbed in August 2017 and the following year pleaded guilty to a string of charges including commercial drug importation and the trafficking of nearly 1,800 kilograms of MDMA, 136kg of cocaine and 15kg of ice into Australia.
Defence barrister Bret Walker SC said Ibrahim, who has below average intelligence, was susceptible to an undercover officer who encouraged him to commit more crimes and the judge should factor this in when sentencing him next month.
“But for the undercover operative’s involvement it is really very difficult to see anything like what transpired having occurred through the initiative, ingenuity, cleverness or subtlety of our client,” he said on Tuesday.
But Mr Crowley said this argument “defies common sense” as it was Ibrahim who came up with the idea of adding illicit drugs to the illegal tobacco smuggling scheme in November 2016.
“It wasn’t the offender being led astray or manipulated by (the undercover) … he is the initiator,” he said.
Ibrahim stood to gain such a large cut of the profits because he introduced two factions within the syndicate and while offering to be (the undercover)’s right hand man he assured the cop “no one's going to rip me off”, the court heard.
“They are dealing with high stakes, large quantities, organised criminality of the highest order and it’s the offender who is ensuring they can cohesively work together in this trust relationship,” Mr Crowley said.
The Vaucluse man appeared in court via video link from Long Bay prison, and Judge Dina Yehia said she’d give little weight to any claims of extra hardship Ibrahim may have suffered in custody due to coronavirus lockdowns.
He was arrested in the United Arab Emirates with Mostafa Dib, Koder Jomaa, brother Fadi Ibrahim and others also taken into custody.
Their businessman brother John has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Simultaneous raids in Sydney netted underling and former eastern suburbs real estate agent Ryan Watsford who was jailed in December for his role in the importation.
Officers seized almost $750,000 in cash, about 80kg of cocaine and guns in raids across the city.
‘(The undercover)’ had befriended Watsford — a former Cranbrook student who lived in Rose Bay — in 2016, and used him to infiltrate the group. The cop then became friends with Michael Ibrahim and was also introduced to Dib. Months later he had them on the hook for a massive smuggling operation.
On Monday western Sydney drug lord Dib was handed at least 12 years in jail after pleading guilty to conspiring to smuggle nearly 600kg of pure MDMA worth $400 million into Australia alongside Ibrahim.
In November Jomaa was sentenced to at least 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to commercial drug importation.
Jomaa was arrested one the same day in Dubai in 2017 as part of a separate task force investigation.
Sydney customs officer Craig Richard Eakin was jailed last August for four years after playing a critical role in sneaking millions of untaxed cigarettes into Australia.
He was paid $100,000 by then-NSW Police employee Johayna Merhi, who was giving his information to Jomaa and his brothers Ali and Abbas before she was jailed for bribing a Commonwealth official.
Fadi Ibrahim is accused of helping finance the tobacco importation but denies the charges and awaits trial this year.
In November Elmir was extradited to Sydney from Dubai and the 33-year-old will face court in May charged with a raft of commercial drug importation offences.”