A mystery police informant is behind Australia’s biggest drug bust, single-handedly infiltrating and bringing down an alleged crime syndicate.
Known only as Male Witness 1 (MW1), the police asset gained the trust of Michael Ibrahim before meeting the cagey alleged drug kingpin Hakan Arif face-to-face in Dubai.
After helping orchestrate multiple alleged shipments of illegal drugs, MW1 set up the final sting that would bring down Arif and Ibrahim brothers Michael and Fadi.
MW1 first met Michael Ibrahim on November 10 2016 at the Sheraton Hotel in Sydney, according to court documents obtained by The Daily Telegraph.
The two were introduced by an old family friend of the Ibrahims, Ryan Watsford, a former Double Bay real estate agent.
It took MW1 only nine months to dismantle the alleged drug syndicate, snaring the Ibrahims and members of two warring crime families, the Ahmads and the Elmirs.
Known only as Male Witness 1 (MW1), the police asset gained the trust of Michael Ibrahim (pictured above)
Fadi Ibrahim is pictured going through security at Sydney Airport before flying to Dubai
Drugs: MDMA, stamped with a recognisable Audi logo, was seized in the Netherlands
On his second meeting with Michael Ibrahim they allegedly discussed importing drugs from Lebanon at the Intercontinental Hotel in Double Bay.
Michael allegedly told MW1 he had ’50 litres [assumed to be pseudoephedrine] in Lebanon and 50 kegs of coke in Lebanon’.
Less than a week later they met again at a cafe where MW1 was given a BlackBerry – the alleged syndicate’s preferred communication device.
The reason for MW1’s speedy initiation into the group was his claim to have a ‘door service’ that allowed him to import anything into Australia undetected.
It is alleged Michael saw an opportunity to profit from using MW1’s service, and set to work recruiting underworld figures.
At this third meeting Michael allegedly first mentioned Moustapha ‘Fairy’ Dib, who had his conviction for the killing of schoolboy Edward Lee in Punchbowl in 1998 overturned in an appeals court.
MW1 gained the trust of Michael Ibrahim (left) before meeting the cagey alleged drug kingpin Hakan Arif (right) face-to-face in Dubai
An AFP photo shows Michael Ibrahim, Ryan Watsford and a man believed to be MW1 together
A police photo shows Michael Ibrahim meeting with an unknwon person in Rose Bay, Sydney
Moustapha ‘Fairy’ Dib (left) allegedly met Ahmad ‘Rock’ Ahmad (right) in Sydney
Dib then allegedly joined the group at the 21 Espresso cafe and they took a stroll to nearby Guilfoyle Park.
On December 29 Watsford allegedly told MW1 that Dib was not entirely convinced about him, but planning continued nonetheless.
By the time Dib’s Lebanon connections in late February this year the two were closer and Dib allegedly asked if MW1 could help import cocaine from Sudan or the Netherlands. MW1 replied that he could, and it is alleged plans sprung into action.
By May 2017 the syndicate was allegedly in the process of buying a $1million shipment of MDMA from Arif – nicknamed Mr Billionaire.
MW1 then met Nejmi ‘The Boss’ Saki who was allegedly Arif’s main supplier of drugs, putting him one step closer to Mr Billionaire.
Haul: 498kg of MDMA, 116kg of cocaine and 15kg of meth were allegedly found
Michael Ibrahim is seen using a BlackBerry phone while inside a warehouse on CCTV
Images released by the AFP show images of a service station on Liverpool Road in Sydney
MW1 collected the shipment on May 26 and sent Michael Ibrahim a text message confirming he had the product in the Netherlands.
Meanwhile in Sydney, Ibrahim and Dib allegedly met Ahmad ‘Rock’ Ahmad and Hassan ‘Fraka’ Fakhreddine who represented Mr Billionaire in Australia.
The previously warring families, including Dib and Elmir, allegedly united together under the guidance of MW1 and arranged to transport 500kg of MDMA, stamped with a recognisable Audi logo, and 20kg of cocaine.
The drugs were allegedly transported from Netherlands in two separate pick-ups without a hitch, and MW1 set about organising a third drug import through Elmir.
Ryan Watsford, an old family friend of the Ibrahims and former Double Bay real estate agent
Michael and Fadi Ibrahim are pictured with their mother and John Ibrahim. Neither their mother or John are accused of any offences
Fadi Ibrahim is pictured outside Central Local Court in Sydney on May 13, 2011
Police raided properties in Sydney over an alleged drug smuggling syndicate
It is alleged that MW1 then convinced Michael Ibrahim to fly first-class to Dubai, joined by Fadi and Elmir, so that the men had an alibi when the alleged drug haul – 498kg of MDMA, 116kg of cocaine and 15kg of meth – touched down in Sydney.
Two months after the third successful drug importation, members of the alleged drug syndicate met up in Dubai to celebrate the enormous haul.
But they had no idea that police, acting on months of detailed intelligence, were finalising plans to pounce and make coordinated arrests across three continents.
Up to 570 AFP officers were involved in raids, aided by NSW Police and investigators in the United Arab Emirates and The Netherlands.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan confirmed investigators had arrested 17 people in three countries – nine men and one woman in Sydney, five men in Dubai and two men in The Netherlands.
Police are now working to extradite the men from Dubai back to Australia, where they will be forced to prove their allegations in court.
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