Rabi Abu Abareh charged with trafficking drugs after police searched his Victorian hire car and found 5kg of cocaine

A Mawson Lakes man allegedly crossed the state border with 5kg of brick cocaine hidden in a dog food bag in his Victorian hire car, a court has heard.

A routine traffic stop led police to discover a man had hidden 5kg of cocaine in a dog food bag as he drove across the state border, a court has heard.

Mawson Lakes man Rabi Abu Abareh, 32, faced Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday afternoon after police allegedly found illicit substances in his car the prior evening.

The court heard Mr Abareh had been stopped by an SA Police patrol on the Dukes Highway in Tailem Bend Thursday evening for a routine traffic check.

After searching Mr Abareh’s Victorian hire car, police allegedly found “five plastic bricks containing five kilograms of cocaine” inside a dog food bag.

Mr Abareh was arrested and charged with trafficking a large commercial quantity of cocaine.

32-year-old Mawson Lakes man Rabi Abu Abareh has been charged with trafficking a large commercial quantity of cocaine. Picture: Facebook

SA Police said after his arrest, detectives from Serious and Organised Crime Branch searched a home at Mawson Lakes where they found items that allegedly showed evidence of the man’s involvement in commercial drug trafficking.

Police prosecutors told the court they were opposed to bail.

“He has no criminal history in either South Australia or Victoria, but given the seriousness of the offending, we are opposed to any form of bail. The maximum penalty for this kind of offending is life imprisonment,” a police prosecutor said.

“Further investigations are yet to be conducted because he has only just travelled from Melbourne to Adelaide.”

They said they were concerned Mr Abareh would be a “flight risk” because he “has no ties to South Australia,” but his lawyer Harry Patsouris told the court his client owned land in the state.

“He owns the property at Mawson Lakes,” Mr Patsouris said.

Rabi Abareh faces serious drug trafficking charges after being allegedly found with $1.7m in cocaine in his car. Picture: Facebook

They asked for four months to conduct further investigations ahead of a charge determination hearing.

Auxiliary Magistrate Alfie Grasso ordered a home detention report, and remanded Mr Abareh in custody until next week when the subject of bail will be revisited.

The huge quantity of cocaine seized has prevented at least 5000 street deals from being distributed within the state and hadan approximate total value of about $1.7m, police said.

SA Police said trafficking a large commercial quantity of cocaine could attract a maximum penalty of $1m or imprisonment for life, or both.

Originally published as Rabi Abu Abareh charged with trafficking drugs after police searched his Victorian hire car and found 5kg of cocaine