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Tobacco sales land Anmar Abdulabbas Aubai Alghazali, Bessm Midi in court

A store owner and another man have faced court on several illegal tobacco charges following an interagency raid on several Sunshine Coast shops.

Anmar Abdulabbas Aubai Alghazali and Bessm Midi have faced Maroochydore Magistrates Court charged with selling illegal tobacco.
Anmar Abdulabbas Aubai Alghazali and Bessm Midi have faced Maroochydore Magistrates Court charged with selling illegal tobacco.

A store owner and another man charged with selling illegal tobacco have faced a Maroochydore court after they were swept up in illegal tobacco raids on several stores.

Anmar Abdulabbas Aubai Alghazali faced the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Friday, February 10, on eight tobacco-related charges while Bessm Midi also fronted the court on 11 charges.

Court documents showed Ms Alghazali, a 36-year-old store owner from Caboolture, was charged with two counts of possessing 5kg or more of fault-based tobacco and four of selling or supplying tobacco products in non-compliant retail packaging.

Police alleged the offences occurred in Currimundi and Maroochydore in December 2022.

Court documents also showed Ms Alghazali was charged with two counts of receiving tainted property relating to money totalling $3565.

Anmar Abdulabbas Aubai Alghazali faced the Maroochydore Magistrates Court charged with illegal tobacco-related offences.
Anmar Abdulabbas Aubai Alghazali faced the Maroochydore Magistrates Court charged with illegal tobacco-related offences.

It is alleged she received the money in Currimundi and Maroochydore on December 6.

Mr Midi has been charged with possessing 5kg or more of fault-based tobacco, receiving tainted property and selling or supplying tobacco products in non-compliant retail packaging on December 6 and November 16.

Bessm Midi outside the Maroochydore Courthouse.
Bessm Midi outside the Maroochydore Courthouse.

The alleged offences occurred in Maroochydore and Currimundi.

Court documents showed the 54-year-old Caboolture man has been charged with receiving $1605 on December 6 in Currimundi, $1960 on December 6 in Maroochydore and $740 on November 16 in Maroochydore.

Mr Midi’s occupation was unknown, according to the court documents.

Duty lawyer Neesha Maidwell said the case was “outside the scope” of a duty lawyer and asked for an adjournment for the pair so they could seek further legal advice.

Magistrate Haydn Stjernqvist adjourned the matter until March 10.

The pair was charged following an interagency raid conducted by the Australian Taxation Office, Queensland Police and Queensland Health officers who searched three tobacconists in Maroochydore, Dicky Beach and Currimundi and a storage facility in Maroochydore.

Originally published as Tobacco sales land Anmar Abdulabbas Aubai Alghazali, Bessm Midi in court

Original URL: https://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/queensland/sunshine-coast/police-courts/tobacco-sales-land-anmar-abdulabbas-aubai-alghazali-bessm-midi-in-court/news-story/6b2eec23202a44f83f0d3125ae7861a8