By and large, Syed Deen Mohamed seemed like an ordinary man. He lived in a small home in the bustling western Sydney suburb of Lakemba and drove a Mercedes sedan or a more modest Toyota Corolla. He didn’t work much but spent time with his wife and children, often at the DFO Homebush shopping centre.
Police say otherwise. Investigators allege his normal-seeming life was a veneer for his role as the head of a global drug supply ring. The alleged syndicate came unstuck last year when the 48-year-old and two co-accused were arrested in a Silverwater business park allegedly selling precursors capable of making $30 million worth of methamphetamine.
Shahid Mohammad (from left), Deen Mohamed and Pathmendra Pulendren.
Deen Mohamed, a convicted people smuggler, Pathmendra Pulendren, 50, and a third man, Shahid Mohammad, were picked up by detectives investigating the illegal import of eye-watering amounts of pseudoephedrine – a substance commonly used to manufacture methamphetamine – in September 2023.
Court documents obtained by the Herald lay bare the enormous scale of the syndicate, which “police believe has been operating for a number of years” using “widespread and entrenched” criminal connections in Australia and overseas.
The group used shipments claiming to contain items like manhole covers and spices to import pseudoephedrine, the documents claim.
“While the charges relate to a single customer, police believe the syndicate has been operating for … years,” say the documents.
Police began to watch the men last August and allegedly observed as Pulendren – accused of being an intermediary between Deen Mohamed and customers – offered to supply pseudoephedrine to a possible buyer for $34,000 per kilogram and asked to be supplied with 40 kilograms of cocaine.
Investigators were also watching as Deen Mohamed drove the family Corolla to an address in Silverwater, where he allegedly supplied a kilogram of pseudoephedrine. And they had eyes on the duo when they drove to a safe house in Silverwater, where Deen Mohamed allegedly handed Pulendren a bag of pseudoephedrine.
Investigators swoop
Then, on October 20, police say Deen Mohamed and Mohammad met at Deen Mohamed’s home and then drove to Storage King in Homebush, where they met Pulendren.
Pulendren allegedly handed six reusable grocery bags of pseudoephedrine to a would-be buyer and was counting the $1 million in cash when investigators swooped in.
Upon arrest, Deen Mohamed allegedly “called his wife and requested that she flee the country”, according to court documents seen by the Herald. So quick was the family’s flight that the children’s school rang police concerned about their whereabouts.
Deen Mohamed has been charged with drug offences, directing a criminal group and dealing with the proceeds of crime. Pulendren was charged with three drug supply offences and participating in a criminal group. Both were refused bail to spend a second Christmas behind bars.
Shahid Mohammad pleaded guilty to commercial drug supply and remains bail refused ahead of sentencing.
Police also raided Deen Mohamed’s home and the alleged syndicate’s two safe houses, seizing more than $100,000 in cash, 70 kilograms of pseudoephedrine, and clothing Deen Mohamed was wearing in secret police tapes.
His high-profile lawyer, Omar Juweinat, declined to comment.
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