A mother and Iranian refugee who funded a lavish lifestyle by taking part in the sale of meth will remain in jail after a desperate attempt to be freed on Friday failed in the state’s highest court.
Yosra Rabieh, 35, was last year sentenced to at least five-and-a-half years in prison after she was found guilty of a string of serious drug offences.
The mother was charged following a raid on her Sydney home where police found a large stash of meth that had been imported from Thailand.
Rabieh and her husband Ali Maleki fled Iran in 2013 for Australia before they were granted temporary protection visas.
In February 2018, the pair were charged over the supply of more than 30kg of methylamphetamine, which was found in their home they shared with their two children.
When police raided their Asquith house in Sydney’s north, they found more than 32kg of meth in their garage and bedroom, along with $264,000 in cash.
Rabieh pleaded guilty in August 2019.
However, in a bizarre twist in January 2021 she withdrew her plea, with the former law student claiming that at the time she did not know what ‘guilty’ meant.
Yosra Rabieh (right) and her husband Ali Maleki (left) fled Iran in 2013 for Australia before they were granted temporary protection visas and started a life in Sydney’s north
Police found more than 32kg of meth (pictured) in their garage and bedroom
Officers also found $264,000 in cash during raids at the family home in 2018
Ultimately, following a District Court trial in early 2023, she was found guilty of supplying a commercial quantity of methamphetamine and dealing with the property proceeds of crime.
The court was told that Rabieh enjoyed the spoils of the drug importation scheme, including luxury cars, purchases from designer stores like Louis Vuitton and overseas holidays.
In September last year, she was jailed for nine years and two months, with a non-parole period of five years and six months.
At the time of the offences, neither she nor her husband were working and were receiving Centrelink payments.
Maleki imported the methylamphetamine from Thailand hidden inside crates of charcoal, the court was told.
In February 2018, the pair (pictured on their wedding day) were charged over the supply of more than 30kg of methylamphetamine
Maleki (pictured with his wife) imported the methylamphetamine from Thailand hidden inside crates of charcoal, a District Court trial was told in early 2023
Despite the guilty verdict, Rabieh maintained her innocence and challenged her conviction in the Court of Criminal Appeal.
On Friday, the court dismissed her appeal. She will first be eligible for release on parole in August 2027.
For his role in the scheme, Maleki was in 2021 sentenced to a maximum of 14 years in prison, with a nine-year and four-month non-parole period.
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