Big win for drug trafficker brother of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim

The brother of Kings Cross personality John Ibrahim has had a big win while in jail for attempting to bring a mountain of drugs into Australia.

The younger brother of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim has successfully appealed to have a lengthy drug smuggling sentence slashed.

Moustafa “Michael” Ibrahim was serving up to 30 years in jail for attempting to bring close to two tonnes of drugs into Australia.

On Monday, his sentence was reduced to 25 years with the possibility of parole after 15 years, making him eligible for release in 2032 – three years earlier than before.

Between 2016 and 2017, Mr Ibrahim attempted to import 1797kg of MDMA, 136kg of cocaine and 15kg of ice into the country before being arrested in Dubai.

The accumulated sentences he was serving for charges related to the shipments of drugs and illegal tobacco were deemed excessive by the court.

Convicted drug trafficker Michael Ibrahim – brother of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim – had five years wiped from his sentence.

Mr Ibrahim will be eligible for parole in 2032.

A review of Mr Ibrahim’s sentence noted he had experienced a childhood of “dislocation and poverty”, had only attended school until year eight and struggled with literacy.

“He had a poor employment record, and has spent a significant portion of his adult life in custody,” court documents stated.

It also noted there was limited evidence Mr Ibrahim was remorseful for his crime and that there was a “guarded” chance he could be rehabilitated.

During his trial, Mr Ibrahim’s lawyer argued he would not have gone through with the crime if he and co-conspirator Ryan Watsford were not offered a “door” to bring the drugs into Australia by an undercover police officer.

Watsford was sentenced to a maximum of eight years and six months in prison for his role.

Mr Ibrahim – pictured with wife Caitlin Hall – was found to show little sign he was remorseful for the crime.

In originally sentencing Mr Ibrahim, Judge Dina Yehia accepted he was not involved in the drug trade until offered a way to get drugs into the country by the undercover officer.

She said “once the opportunity was presented, the offender immediately embraced it”, motivated by the opportunity to turn a significant profit.

At an appeal hearing earlier this year, Mr Ibrahim’s barrister, Tim Game, described him as “gullible” and said being offered the chance to smuggle a large quantity of drugs had him “seeing dollar signs”.

“What you are sentencing is a person who was quite willing to behave very, very badly,” Mr Game said.

“But he wasn’t going to be behaving very, very badly until somebody, namely the state, got him involved in them.

“They have proved that my client is quite capable, if encouraged to do so, of doing these things.”