By Jenny Noyes
A NSW District Court jury has been unable to reach a verdict on whether Brothers 4 Life gang founder Bassam Hamzy ran a drug operation from his cell inside Australia’s highest security prison.
Hamzy, 44, has been in jail since 1999 when he was arrested, aged 20, on murder and drug importation charges, and was later found guilty. In 2019, he was arrested along with his lawyer Martin Churchill and accused of running a drug syndicate from behind bars, with Churchill acting as a go-between with dealers on the outside.
Bassam Hamzy (left) is accused o running a drug supply ring from Goulburn supermax prison, with help from solicitor Martin Churchill (right).
Hamzy pleaded not guilty to supplying a commercial quantity of drugs, knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime, and hindering the apprehension of a person who committed a serious offence. Each charge related to allegations he was involved in the supply of methamphetamine from jail between October 2017 and February 2018.
On Friday, a jury of five men and seven women was discharged after informing Judge Antony Townsden they were unable to reach unanimous or majority verdicts on any of the three counts. The case will return to court on June 2 to determine the next steps.
The trial, which began on May 1, heard that Hamzy allegedly used coded messages purporting to refer to legal fees on calls with Churchill as outside associates listened in.
One of those associates became the star witness for the prosecution after he was caught supplying drugs and agreed to give evidence against Hamzy.
Known only as Witness I, the drug dealer told the court that, according to the coded language that Hamzy, Churchill and other syndicate members used to communicate, ounces of methamphetamine became “legal fees”, $3500 referred to one ounce and “paying the barrister” meant handing over quantities of the drugs to another dealer down the chain.
Hamzy denied the existence of any such code and, through his barrister Dennis Stewart, claimed he was genuinely involved in helping people with their legal cases.
The court heard that, after his own arrest on drug supply charges in 2018, Witness I was approached by detectives and agreed to become an informant. He wore a wire during subsequent in-person meetings with Churchill, and the court heard he would receive a sentencing discount and indemnities in exchange for giving truthful testimony.
Stewart argued this “get out of jail card” provided a motive for Witness I to lie to police and the court about his client’s involvement in drug dealing.
Stewart said Hamzy recruited Witness I to help him engage in legitimate business interests, which he said included such ventures as importing sneakers, bottled water and fruit, and investing in South American nightclubs.
Witness I told the court he was more interested in doing legal business with Brothers 4 Life, but soon found himself dealing meth instead. When he was caught, he was given the option to assist police in netting Hamzy or face a much lengthier jail term.
“Police asked me to do something. I was reluctant at first, but I did it,” he told the court.
Another former gang member, known only as Witness A, told the court Brothers 4 Life involved itself in the business of drug supply, debt collecting and shootings.
While the jury was given some contextual evidence about the workings of the gang, it was not told that Hamzy pleaded guilty in 2011 to operating a multimillion-dollar drug ring and orchestrating a kidnapping from his cell at Lithgow jail using a mobile phone illegally smuggled inside.
The case prompted NSW authorities to introduce mobile phone jamming technology at Lithgow jail in 2013, followed by Goulburn jail, while, in 2020, X-ray body scanners were introduced at maximum security facilities across the state in a bid to cut down the smuggling of phones.
In his closing arguments last week, Stewart submitted to the jury that Witness I was “a cunning and deceitful individual” who had lied to authorities about his own drug dealing and couldn’t be trusted to give truthful evidence.
“Bassam Hamzy was excited about the kinds of projects he could get going, which were legitimate projects, and that was the only reason Witness I was involved,” Stewart said.
Proceedings against Churchill, 66, who denies the allegations, were permanently stayed last year due to a serious illness.
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