Salim has bail refused after spending night in jail

AFTER spending last night behind bars, former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer had his bail application refused this morning.

AFTER spending last night behind bars, Salim Mehajer has had his bail refused in court this morning.

Mr Mehajer spent the night in jail after a decision on his bail application was postponed in extraordinary scenes at a Sydney court on Tuesday.

The former Auburn deputy mayor claimed he was a victim of “extortion” as he was charged with perverting the course of justice, conspiracy to cheat and fraud in relation to a car crash last year.

He also faced two fresh charges of stalking his estranged wife.

Yesterday, the magistrate told Mr Mehajer, “My day couldn’t get any worse”, after hearing the bail application.

In Waverley court this morning, his bail application was refused.

The property developer was arrested on Tuesday morning at his Vaucluse home and held at Waverley police station in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

The original charges relate to a car crash before a scheduled court appearance over the alleged assault of a taxi driver last year.

The smash saw him unable to attend the hearing and it is alleged he planned it to avoid court and commit insurance fraud.

Police have said the controversial ex-mayor could face a prison sentence.

Mehajer’s barrister Tom Hughes claimed police had a “weak and circumstantial case at best”. Mr Hughes said his client was a victim of “extortion” and that people linked to the driver of the other car asked him to pay $10,000.

Former Auburn Deputy Mayor Salim Mehajer in December last year. Picture: AAP Image/Ben Rushton

NSW Police said that at 7am that officers arrested three men, aged 28, 30 and 31, and a 31-year-old woman in relation to a collision between a Mercedes AMG and a Mitsubishi Outlander in October 2017.

That incident, on October 18, occurred at the intersection of Nicholas and Delhi streets in Lidcombe, western Sydney.

The 28-year-old charged is Mehajer’s friend and business associate Ahmed Jaghbir, who is defending an unrelated murder charge following the shooting death in March last year of Sydney underworld figure Kemel Barakat.

Jaghbir is the director of Mehajer’s wedding business.

Mehajer, 31, who was driving the Mercedes involved in the crash, was freed from the wreckage by Fire and Rescue NSW officers and loaded into an ambulance in a neck brace.

The incident occurred when he was on his way to Sydney’s Downing Centre local court to face a charge of assaulting a taxi driver.

But instead of going to court, he ended up being ferried to Westmead Hospital emergency after his $100,000-plus Mercedes and the other car collided at an intersection not far from his then-home in Lidcombe. No one else was injured.

A man believed to be Mehajer (left) with a police officer on Tuesday morning. Picture: NSW Police Force.

His legal team was forced to explain why his client wouldn’t be attending court that day.

At the time, one of his lawyers Mahmoud Abbas insisted to reporters the incident was indeed an accident. “It is just ridiculous if you are insinuating anything,” Mr Abbas said.

However, speaking on Tuesday morning, Detective Superintendent Philip Rogerson said the charges against two of the men relate directly to the no-show at the court and a subsequent alleged insurance claim.

“It’s going to extensive lengths to avoid facing court. (They are facing) a lengthy term of imprisonment,” he said.

Talking about the insurance claim, he added: “It’s not acceptable to the police, and in particular, the emergency services that freed them out of that car and (to the) insurance companies and people like yourselves, who have to pay your premiums.”

Ahmed Jaghbir (right), friends with Mehajer (left) was arrested on Tuesday. Picture: Instagram

Police spoke to reporters outside Auburn police station, which is adjacent to the former Auburn council chambers where Mehajer was once deputy mayor.

Asked if the crash between the two vehicles was preconceived, Det Rogerson said, “There was a conspiracy between the parties.”

He said he couldn’t comment on whether money had exchanged hands.

Mehajer was taken to Westmead Hospital following an accident in Lidcombe. Picture: Kelly Fedor

Police have not yet formally identified Mehajer as being one of the four people arrested.

Following the October crash, detectives from Flemington Local Area Command commenced an investigation into the collision under Strike Force Reppan.

Around the same time, police confirmed they were also investigating insurance claims made by Mehajer’s companies referred to them by NRMA insurance.

In a statement earlier on Tuesday, police said: “Following extensive inquiries, Strike Force Reppan investigators arrested a 31-year-old man.”

Mehajer, 31, currently lives in the swanky harbourside neighbourhood of Vaucluse after renting out his home in Lidcombe.

NSW Police at the home of the former Auburn deputy mayor in November. Picture: AAP Image/Dean Lewins.

“The men were taken to Waverley and Bankstown Police stations respectively, where they will be charged with pervert the course of justice and conspiracy to cheat and defraud,” the statement continued.

Police said the 30-year-old and 31-year-old woman arrested in Lidcombe were taken to Auburn police station and were expected to be charged with conspiracy to cheat and defraud.

In November, police raided Mehajer’s Lidcombe home, as he was moving out, and removed several items including a computer in relation to the crash.