A western Sydney teenager has been labelled a lazy, dishonest wanna-be gangster by a magistrate after pleading guilty to selling drugs in Bondi.
Maisam Awaz, 19, was told to “bring his toothbrush” to his sentencing hearing after he pleaded guilty to two counts of supplying a prohibited drug, one count of possessing a prohibited drug and one count of dealing with property proceeds of crime in Waverley Local Court on Tuesday.
Maisam Awaz, 19, pleaded guilty to four drug-related charges after driving from Blacktown to Bondi to sell cocaine.Credit: Sydney Morning Herald
The Blacktown resident was picked up near the Royal Bondi Hotel on Friday, August 2, during a two-night blitz targeting “dial-a-dealer” drug suppliers.
According to police facts, officers were monitoring the pub as it is a “known location for the use and supply of prohibited drugs”, when they saw a man leave the hotel and get into the passenger seat of Awaz’s Kia Sedan about 8.40pm. He got out of the car just 20 seconds later. Suspecting a drug deal, police stopped the pair. The man was found with one bag of cocaine and showed text messages between himself and Awaz.
Police searched Awaz’s car and found $7600 in a Chupa Chups container, $300 in $50 denominations, and eight bags of cocaine weighing 7.37 grams.
Wearing a black shirt and plaid pants, Awaz stood silently as magistrate Michael Barko tore into him.
‘You all think you’re such gangsters. You come out to the eastern suburbs with your encrypted phones … we’re sick of it.’
Magistrate Michael Barko
“You, with respect, are an idiot,” Barko said, adding it was his courtroom’s third drug supply case in less than two hours. “You all think you’re such gangsters. You come out to the eastern suburbs with your encrypted phones … we’re sick of it.”
Barko said he was tired of drug dealers assuming the court would give them a slap on the wrist, and that jail now “had to happen” to address dial-a-dealer operations.
“Pass the word around among your mates and think about cooperating [with] police,” he said.
Barko said he expected analysis of the cocaine would find Awaz was selling gram bags weighing 0.6 grams, also making him a “dishonest thief”.
He will next appear in court for sentencing on October 25. He will have to report to Blacktown police station once a week under his bail conditions.
Lucas Cozzari, 23, was picked up during the same blitz on Denham Street in Bondi. Police say they found 308 grams of cannabis leaf, 72 grams of cannabis “gummies” and $2840 cash. He was charged with supplying prohibited drugs, possessing a prohibited drug and dealing with the proceeds of crime. He has been released on bail and will enter a plea on September 25.
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