Mohamed Libdy: Bail refused for accused Sydney drug boss selling cocaine
An alleged Sydney drug boss who sold bricks of cocaine bearing Pablo Escobar’s face has been refused bail after claiming the coronavirus travel crackdown means he couldn’t flee the country.
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The alleged commander of a Sydney drug ring peddling millions of dollars worth of cocaine bricks emblazoned with notorious Colombian cartel boss Pablo Escobar's face has made a bid for bail.
Mohamed Libdy was arrested two years ago after police seized more than $600,000 in cash, 11 guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and $14 million worth of drugs in raids across the city’s south west.
The coke bricks bore the words “El Patron” which translates to “the boss” or “the lord” in the late Escobar's native Spanish.
Libdy faces dozens of charges including large commercial drug supply but, while offering up a $250,000 bail surety on Thursday, his lawyer insisted he is not a flight risk.
Defence barrister Ertunc Ozen said even if Libdy somehow dodged heavy police monitoring there would be no way he could flee the country due to current coronavirus rules banning international travel.
“Even if he managed to get his anklet off and get himself to an airport … and make it through those custom gates before anyone raises the alarm … he’s not going to be able to achieve this miraculous feat for many months to come,” he said.
A few months ago Libdy’s relatives offered up equity in their homes to cover his bail but Justice Robert Allan Hulme questioned whether those real estate values would still be as high amid the COVID-19 crisis.
The Crown alleges the Condell Park man laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug sales and received multiple money transfers from a company called Civil Tech despite being unemployed.
But Mr Ozen said his client worked as a project manager at his father’s construction firm and had was making payments to start his own bakery franchise.
A sawn-off double barrel shotgun and $150,000 was allegedly discovered at Libdy’s family home in February 2018, with police saying the cash had been given to his father.
Raids at other hideouts uncovered 11kg of cocaine, 5kg of MDMA, 3.5kg of ice, cannabis and a semi-automatic rifle, while a further $250,000 was seized from the Bass Hill home of Omar Sbat, police say.
Loaded pistols, coke and cash were found in the secret compartments of two cars and the drug haul took 7.5 million individual hits off the street.
The Crown alleges Libdy’s DNA was found on two guns and a coffee cup at one Bankstown property, while his fingerprints were also detected inside a safe within a locked bedroom in another house in the same suburb.
A 33-year-old co-accused Alysies Sadiq, of Bankstown, is on bail and will face a hearing in June for charges including participating in a criminal group.
Sbat was charged with dealing with proceeds and property of crime and the 30-year-old Revesby man has already been granted $1 million bail. He is due to face Burwood Local Court in May.
If released on bail, Libdy would live under a curfew and report twice a day to police, his lawyer said.
Mr Ozen said coronavirus-related delays have pushed his client’s trial back to October, adding “I would be astounded” if that start date actually went ahead.
“This is his first time in custody, he is still presumed innocent and he will have served two years before he even gets to trial,” he said. “That is an unacceptable delay.”
Justice Hulme denied Libdy bail on Friday.
