Ex-Bikie President (NOMADS) Sam Ibrahim Gets Deported to WA
Underworld figure Sam Ibrahim has been transferred from a Sydney prison to immigration detention in Perth, escorted in a large police convoy to a waiting charter flight.
Ibrahim, a former Parramatta chapter president of the Nomads bikie gang, was granted parole last month but faces imminent deportation to Lebanon because his Australian permanent residency visa was cancelled during his jail term.
He was arrested in 2014 for conspiracy to supply guns and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton cancelled his visa the following year on character grounds. Ibrahim is the brother of Kings Cross identity John, who was not involved in the offending.
Officers from Strike Force Raptor – the elite NSW Police taskforce that targets gangs – collected Ibrahim from Long Bay jail on Thursday morning and took him to Sydney Airport.
In a statement, NSW Police said the "high-risk detainee" was transferred to Australian Border Force custody in the operation that took place without incident.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner and State Crime Commander Stuart Smith, said authorities' actions sent a message to figures in organised crime that any dangerous conduct would not be tolerated.
"Today, a person who for many years has conducted criminal activity with little regard for devastation he has left in his wake, has departed NSW never to return and we hope the community can find solace in that," Assistant Commissioner Smith said.
A Border Force spokesperson said the government took seriously its responsibility to protect the Australian community from foreign nationals who engage in criminal activity.
"Foreign nationals who do not hold a valid visa will be liable for detention and removal from Australia, pending resolution of any ongoing matters with the courts," the spokesperson said.
A government source, not authorised to speak publicly about the matter, recently told the Herald that Ibrahim would be removed from Australia as soon as practicable following his release from prison.
COVID-19 restrictions have reduced the availability of international flights but Australian government deportations have not stopped completely. There are international flights departing Perth Airport, with some headed for the Middle East.
Ibrahim's lawyer, Abbas Soukie, said last month his client would be seeking a review of the visa cancellation.
Born in Lebanon, Ibrahim has lived in Australia since he was four. Now 51, he has children with an Australian wife and has never travelled overseas.
He was sentenced in 2018 to a nine-year jail term, backdated to December 2014. The sentence was reduced by half a year on appeal, with a non-parole period of five years and nine months.
The prohibited firearms conviction related to a racket involving his sister Jazz Dior, her partner Elvis Mileski, and former Rose Tattoo drummer Paul DeMarco.
Ibrahim planned for Dior and Mileski to secure guns for DeMarco, who would sell them to a buyer. Dior, Mileski and DeMarco were all convicted for their roles in the syndicate.
Courtesy of
Sydney Morning Herald
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