Aiden Khodher jailed for role in importation of drug ingredients

A father of three dumped 200kg of drug ingredients that had been imported from China into the Maribyrnong River after he realised the police were hot on his tail.

An “intelligent” father of three with a history of drug offending dumped nearly 200kg of drug equipment into the Maribyrnong River after police moved in on his elaborate plot, a court has heard.

Aiden Khodher, 34, was thrown in jail on Friday at the County Court after pleading guilty to possessing 180kg of cellulose sodium which he and a co-offender had imported from China, with the intention of using it as a “cutting agent” to manufacture drugs.

Court documents reveal Khodher and co-offender Vincent Fitzpatrick – who received an 11 month jail sentence for his role earlier this year – received multiple packages of cellulose sodium from China between December 2018 and January 2019, with the intention of using it to make MDMA.

Cellulose sodium is a powder that’s often used as a thickener in foods like ice cream and mayonnaise, as well as in other products like toothpaste and washing detergent.

But the pair imported the product from China to use as a “cutting agent” to manufacture drugs like MDMA.

Aiden Khodher.

While the purchase of cellulose sodium is not illegal and there was “no evidence” that any of it was used to “cut” MDMA, Khodher admitted that it was purchased to traffick drugs.

Intercepted text messages show that Khodher and Fitzpatrick used the code word “Kevin” to refer to the shipments of cellulose sodium landing in Australia.

On 24 December 2018 Fitzpatrick texted Khodher “Kev says hi”, in reference to an order of the cellulose sodium being made to China.

A few weeks later the pair had a phone call intercepted where Fitzpatrick was heard saying “Kevin is coming over tomorrow”.

On January 30 2019, Fitzpatrick sent Khodher a message saying “Hello luv. Kev sends his regards”.

Documents also show that Khodher dumped the cellulose sodium into the Maribyrnong River in September 2019 after a police raid at a Fraser Rise property where a large quantity of drugs was found.

In 2013 Khodher was jailed for two years and six months for drug offences.

In sentencing, Judge George Georgiou described Khodher’s offending as “planned and premeditated”.

“You clearly knew that what you were doing was wrong,” His Honour said.

“You have previously been sentenced for drug offending. You were on notice from that earlier sentence of the risk of stern punishment for drug and drug-related offending. You are an intelligent man and would be well aware of the harm and misery that drugs cause to those who suffer addictions, to their families, and to the wider community.”

Khodher was sentenced to six months jail and a 12 month community corrections order, with conviction.

It comes as Khodher faces charges in Queensland where he is accused of being involved in a plot to smuggle $164m worth of cocaine from Papua New Guinea in July 2020; a scheme that failed to get off the ground after the pilot crashed the plane upon take off.

His attempt to have charges dropped at the Queensland Supreme Court in March failed, according to court documents.