A man who allegedly went by the moniker "De Niro" while organising for $40 million of cocaine to be smuggled into Sydney will stay in custody after failing to convince a court the case against him was weak.
Ahmed Haouchar is one of five men arrested and charged after 100kg of cocaine was seized from a passenger plane which had arrived from South Africa on Saturday.
The Australian Federal Police allege the 42-year-old liaised with overseas figures to source the drugs and then arranged to have them placed on an aircraft bound from South Africa to Sydney.
The Padstow father appeared at Downing Centre Local Court by video link from Silverwater prison to make his bail bid on Monday after spending two nights behind bars.
His lawyer Ertunc Ozen SC said his client had been hit with a weak crown case consisting of a single charge of conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
To prove the alleged conspiracy beyond reasonable doubt, prosecutors would have to show there was a "meeting of the minds" between Haouchar and the other four co-accused.
"True it is that 100kg of cocaine was imported into Australia," Mr Ozen said.
"But it is not simply that fact that would make a strong crown case.
"There is an absence of an overt act, which is an essential aspect of any conspiracy charge."
Mr Ozen called the offence of conspiracy a "thought crime" and said it was an extraordinary way to prosecute anyone.
Prosecutor Mara Lejins denied the case was weak, saying there were multiple meetings between Haouchar and his four co-accused in which references to people in Johannesburg were made.
Messages to a person calling themselves "De Niro" described the shipment, she said.
While closing in on Haouchar at a park in Sydney's Rushcutters Bay, police called De Niro's phone and saw him carrying this device upon the arrest.
"This goes to the defendant being De Niro," she told the court.
Mr Ozen argued Haouchar had never been in custody and should not be made to wait for two years behind bars before the matter went to trial.
The Padstow man could remain under strict bail conditions, including house arrest, so he could take care of his children, the court heard.
Ms Lejins rejected these arguments, saying the mere fact of delay and Haouchar's family status were not enough to grant him bail.
There was also evidence he had access to funds and could be a flight risk, despite the AFP already seizing his passport.
Magistrate Daniel Covington agreed and denied bail, saying the case against Haouchar was anything but weak.
"There is evidence clearly of (Haouchar's) involvement," he said.
Haouchar will appear with his four co-accused before Downing Centre Local Court on November 30.
Two men working at Sydney International Airport, aged 55 and 61, are alleged to have used their access to freight to facilitate the operation.
Police say they removed five large bags containing the cocaine from a container in the cargo hold of a Qantas aircraft that had recently arrived from South Africa on Saturday.
The alleged insiders then transferred the bags to a car outside the terminal.
Australian Associated Press
