Dandenong Magistrates Court: Nawid Saffar deemed ‘flight risk’ after being charged with trafficking meth, cocaine
An alleged drug trafficker who was allegedly present at a coke deal that went down at a Melbourne Woolworths has been deemed a “flight risk”.
South East
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A man accused of trafficking large amounts of meth and cocaine will remain behind bars after his application for bail was denied.
Nawid Saffar was denied bail in the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Thursday after being arrested on allegations of trafficking meth and cocaine.
Mr Saffar was arrested on Wednesday after police executed a search warrant at his home and allegedly found 107g of meth, almost $25,000 cash, and ecstasy tablets.
The warrant came after police were investigating Mr Saffar for allegedly taking part in a deal involving 249.5g of cocaine.
Back in June covert police officers arranged to buy the cocaine from another man who was allegedly provided the drugs by Mr Saffar.
The covert officers paid $53,000 for the cocaine.
Police told the court they were relying on the covert officers’ descriptions of Mr Saffar as he was allegedly present at the deal, handing the dealer the cocaine in a Woolworths bag from the driver’s seat of a white Jeep.
The court heard police would also be relying on mobile phone evidence placing Mr Saffar at the location of the deal.
Detective Kim Lee told the court police believed Mr Saffar was trafficking drugs to support his family and lifestyle.
However, it was later submitted he worked as a painter despite jobs being “hard to come by”, according to his wife.
The court was told that the father of two from Lindhurst had a “chronic” drug abuse problem to deal with the horrors he had witnessed growing up in Afghanistan.
Mr Saffar’s wife testified in court that she would supervise her husband and offered up $20,000 in surety.
She said she was “very surprised” when police showed up at her door and that her and the kids “couldn’t live without him”.
“I don’t know what to say to the kids,” she said.
“He has been the best father he could be.”
Magistrate Burns ultimately ruled that his citizenship in Afghanistan and the large amount of money allegedly found at his home made him a “flight risk” and refused bail.
He will reappear in court next month.
