Mohammed Ibrihim: Thomastown man targets Dan Murphy’s stores
A Thomastown drug addict has turned to stealing hard liquor from Dan Murphy’s stores across the northern suburbs to fund his habit — and for a few swigs for himself, with even court bans failing to stop him.
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A Thomastown man with a penchant for selling stolen booze has been caught waltzing out of Dan Murphy’s stores with up to five bottles of spirits stuffed in his clothing at a time.
And not even a court ban declaring it illegal for Mohammed Ibrihim to enter Dan Murphy’s franchises has stopped him pocketing liquor at the stores, Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court has heard.
The 37-year-old pleaded guilty to a range of thefts on Friday, August 21, with the court hearing he was a persistent thief who continued to steal after getting out of jail.
Ibrihim walked out of Dan Murphy’s in South Morang with a bottle of scotch and four bottles of whisky under his clothing on February 9 — a total of $243.85 of hard liquor.
He did the same thing at Dan Murphy’s Thomastown on April 28, smuggling three bottles of whisky in his jacket pockets, a bottle up his shirt and one down his pants.
The next day he tried to hide two bottles of his tequila in his pants at Dan Murphy’s Preston, but a staff member noticed one and managed to get it back.
The court heard Ibrihim also managed to smuggle two bottles out of the same store on May 16, and put another two bottles in his jacket when leaving the shop on July 23, ignoring staff who confronted him.
Lawyer Chris McLennan told the court his client drank some of the alcohol, but sold the rest to fund his long term drug addiction.
He said he was unsure how to stop “the massive circle” of Ibrihim stealing and ending up back in jail.
Ibrihim also pleaded guilty to stealing a tablet from Preston Cash Converters on July 2 and a bike from Hawdon St, Heidelberg, on July 10, as well as going on a $505.05 splurge on a bank card he found on July 15.
The court heard he was being treated for schizo-affective disorder and had recently started taking methadone for his drug problem.
Magistrate Meagan Keogh said hopefully the methadone would make the difference in stopping Ibrihim’s persistent and “frustrating” offending.
She said Ibrihim’s large amount of prior convictions were inescapable, sentencing him to three months’ jail, with 16 days having already been served, followed by a 12-month community corrections order centred around treatment.
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