source : the age
Underworld figure and professional boxer Waleed Haddara has been released back into the community despite fears from Victoria Police that he could commit further crimes.
Haddara, who has full NDIS funding for mental impairment, was arrested on Tuesday morning after allegedly dumping a bag filled with drugs, a knife and his wallet in a laneway near his training gym in Altona North.
Details of his arrest were aired in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, as Haddara applied for bail after spending the night on remand.
The court heard police were conducting a firearm prohibition order compliance check on Haddara when they spotted the boxer walking down a laneway between two buildings near his gym and emerging without wearing his black cross-body bag.
As an underworld figure, Haddara is subject to a firearm prohibition order that prevents him from having or obtaining guns, and allows police to search him and those in his vicinity without a warrant.
Detective Senior Constable Matthew Lechmere said officers retrieved the bag and found two plastic bags filled with about 9 grams of methamphetamine, two plastic bags filled with 9 grams of MDMA, a small container with the drug 1,4-Butanediol, and a syringe.
Also in the bag were a knife, two phones, about $15,000 in cash and Haddara’s wallet, which contained identification documents in his name, Lechmere said.
Haddara was arrested and taken to a police station in Melbourne’s west, where he provided a “no-comment interview”.
He was later charged with trafficking methylamphetamine and MDMA, negligently dealing with proceeds of crime, dealing with property suspected of being proceeds of crime and possessing a controlled weapon.
Lechmere said the two mobile phones found in the bag and a third device seized from the boxer were yet to be fully analysed, but he told the court it was clear Haddara was trafficking drugs.
“I accept that Mr Haddara does not have relevant criminal priors in relation to drug trafficking per se, but he does have very significant and serious prior criminal history,” Lechmere told the court.
However, defence barrister Zarah Garde-Wilson said the circumstances of Haddara’s arrest suggested the drugs were for personal use, and the wads of cash found in the bag could be part of a boxing sponsorship.
She described suggestions by the prosecution during the hearing that Haddara’s drug use would push him to commit further offending as “absolutely preposterous”.
The court heard Haddara, who was on bail for driving while being disqualified over an incident in August at the time of his arrest, had not been found in possession of firearms or ammunition during past compliance searches.
Garde-Wilson said Haddara’s last serious offending was in 2012, and told the court it was unlikely the boxer would be sentenced to a significant jail term if found guilty.
The court heard a report from 2012 had identified Haddara as being intellectually impaired due to his low IQ and potentially meeting the criteria for “moderate mental retardation”.
Garde-Wilson said Haddara was on full NDIS funding, had stable accommodation and received extensive community support. She said he was “known to pretty much every police officer in this state” and tracking down his whereabouts had never been an issue.
The Haddara crime family has been linked to large-scale tobacco importations in Australia and is believed to have dominated the black market trade for over a decade, before becoming embroiled in a violent turf war with tobacco kingpin Kazem Hamad.
Hamad eventually forced the surrender of the Haddaras in early 2024, taking control of their distribution networks and shops.
Haddara was released on bail on the condition that he live at his designated address. He is to return to court later this month for a further mention hearing.
Anyone with information on illicit firearm or drug activity is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit an online confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
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