October 24th 2024.
A man named Nazir Haddara, who is believed to be the leader of an illegal tobacco group, was recently arrested at Melbourne Airport. The police had concerns that he may try to flee, but despite this, Haddara was granted bail when he appeared in court this morning. Along with him, his co-accused, 21-year-old Hassan Jassem, was also released on bail by Magistrate Michelle Hodgson.
The magistrate decided to grant bail after assessing the risk that the pair could pose to the community. She believed that this risk could be reduced by imposing certain conditions, such as requiring sureties, implementing curfews, and prohibiting them from visiting stores that sell illegal tobacco. According to Hodgson, these measures could mitigate the risk to an acceptable level.
During the court proceedings, Detective Senior Constable Jessica Keenan revealed that Haddara was the leader of a syndicate that was involved in leasing retail stores in Victoria to sell and distribute illegal tobacco and vapes. The police had been investigating this syndicate since January and have already seized a large quantity of illegal items, including one million tobacco sticks, 50 kilograms of loose leaf tobacco, and over 10,000 e-cigarettes. The estimated loss of revenue to the Commonwealth is more than $2.5 million.
The detective also stated that Haddara had been using encrypted messaging apps like Signal to direct his subordinates and had received large sums of money in his bank accounts since March 2022, despite being unemployed and not filing a tax return in three years.
The police believed that Haddara posed an unacceptable risk to the community and could potentially flee if released on bail. They also had similar concerns about Jassem. However, the magistrate disagreed and decided to grant bail with certain conditions in place. These conditions include a surety of $150,000 for Haddara and $100,000 for Jassem, a curfew, and a restriction on visiting any stores or businesses that sell illicit tobacco, vapes, or tobacco products.
The magistrate also noted that Haddara's flight risk had been neutralized as he had a return flight booked from Dubai. Despite the objections from the police, she believed that the bail conditions would address any concerns and ensure the safety of the community.
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