Jason Laria pleads guilty to drug charges as Mahmoud ‘Brownie’ Ahmad murder accessory charge dropped

Lawyers for Jason Laria flagged as early as October 2022 that the case against their client was weak. Now, their call appears to have been vindicated.

Sydney man Jason Laria (inset), who repeatedly denied any involvement in the killing of gangster Mahmoud ‘Brownie’ Ahmad, has been vindicated in court.

A Sydney man who repeatedly denied any involvement in the killing of gangster Mahmoud ‘Brownie’ Ahmad has been vindicated in court, with prosecutors formally discontinuing an accessory after the fact to murder charge against him.

Jason Laria was arrested in July 2022, three months after Ahmad was fatally shot as he left a Ramadam celebration at an acquaintance’s home in Greenacre.

Police alleged Laria organised to shift a getaway vehicle allegedly used in the April 27 shooting.

Several people have been arrested over their alleged involvement in Ahmad’s death and remain before the courts.

According to prosecution documents tendered to his Supreme Court bail hearing in October 2022, Laria allegedly sent a family member a text message two days after the shooting which read: “I would have loved to stick around for the shit show, but I thought no, better to get away”.

Laria’s legal team argued the case against him was weak and would fail at trial.

Court records reveal the accessory after the fact to murder charge was discontinued in the NSW District Court in April this year.

One the same day, Laria entered guilty pleas to separate commercial drug supply and criminal group charges.

An agreed statement of facts tendered to the court in that case state Laria was detected using a high-end encrypted application called ‘Stealth’ between January 2022 and May 2022 to participate in a drug syndicate responsible for trafficking in almost 12kgs of methamphetamine.

Family mourn Ahmad at Lakemba Mosque. Picture: David Swift

It is alleged a user with the handle ‘Gangland’ organised the drug deals, and directed Laria and others via the encrypted app.

The court heard Gangland would create a group chat on the app, invite people into the chat, then delete the communication once the task was completed.

Regular participants in the group went by the pseudonyms ‘Titanium’, ‘Midas Touch!!’, ‘Dr Stealthy’ and ‘Catch’, while Laria used the handle ‘onthehustle’ or ‘Hustle’ for short.

Ahmad was farewelled in a funeral at the end of April, 2022. Picture: David Swift

The court heard Laria was regularly paid to store drugs, cash and cloned number plates for the group and occasionally acted as a runner, collecting and transporting drugs from one place to another.

He gave a close associate an encrypted phone when he travelled to Singapore for a week in mid-April and organised for the man to complete tasks for the group while he was away, including picking up 8kgs of meth from a property in Cabramatta.

The court heard Laria arranged with the group for his associate to be paid for both his time and his agreement to allow drugs to be stored at his house - at a rate of $1,000 per kilogram.

Police raided the associate’s home on May 3, uncovering 11.92kg of meth in two separate bags, almost $200,000 in cash, multiple phones, a food vacuum sealer, gloves and backpack containing approximately 40 vehicles registration plates.

Laria’s DNA was located both inside and outside one of the bags.

Police were unable to save Ahmad after he was shot dead on a street in Greenacre in April 2022. Picture: Supplied

“The offender accepts he was in joint possession, for the purpose of supply, of these prohibited drugs, with [his associate] and that [the associate] was storing the prohibited drugs on behalf of the higher up members of the criminal group,” the agreed facts state.

Officers also uncovered nearly a kilogram of a precursor chemical used to manufacture ice.

Laria pleaded guilty to two counts of commercial drug supply and one count each of knowingly participating in a criminal group and possessing a precursor intending for it to be used in the production of an illicit substance.

Laria remains in custody and will face sentencing later this month.
Do you have a story for The Daily Telegraph? Message 0481 056 618 or email [e-mail]

Originally published as Jason Laria pleads guilty to drug charges as Mahmoud ‘Brownie’ Ahmad murder accessory charge dropped