Jamil Hopoate granted bail on drug supply charge linked to $154 million cocaine investigation
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Off-contract NRL player Jamil Hopoate has been granted bail on a drug supply charge linked to the alleged importation of $154.2 million of cocaine after the prosecution changed its position overnight and consented to his release under strict conditions.
Justice Elizabeth Fullerton, in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday, said a pre-release condition was the $200,000 surety from his brother, Bulldogs star William Hopoate, to be deposited by one or more acceptable persons.
Australian authorities say they have arrested the money man behind an audacious plot to smuggle three tons of cocaine into the country.
Mustafa Baluch, pictured, was the owner of the now-defunct Cervo restaurant in Sydney. This image of him was found on the restaurant’s Facebook page. (Image: Facebook/Cervo)
Former Sydney restaurateur Mostafa Baluch, 33, is described by prosecutors as the “sole financier” of a conspiracy to import one of three drug shipments with a total street value of almost US$700 million.
Baluch is the fourth suspect arrested in the investigation. Police uncovered the scheme after an alleged member of the gang, Mende Rajkoski, was observed gambling around US$77 million in one week on slots at the Star Casino in Sydney.
Mark Sendecky was arrested in Erskineville, in Sydney s inner-west, after police allegedly found the explicit images, which were also shared in a Dropbox folder under his name, police allege.
10:04 EDT, 25 May 2021
An alleged Islamic State fighter arrested upon his return to Australia from Turkey has been extradited to NSW to face terrorism charges.
Mohamed Zuhbi arrived in Melbourne on a flight from Turkey on May 8 and was taken into custody by counterterrorism authorities at the airport.
The 30-year-old travelled from Sydney to Turkey in 2013, and then allegedly on to Syria, where he recruited and helped foreign fighters travel to the area.
Mohamed Zuhbi was arrested in Melbourne (pictured) when he arrived from Turkey on May 8
Zuhbi has been extradited to NSW after completing quarantine in Victoria, and appeared before Sydney Central Local Court on Tuesday.