New details of alleged Ibrahim hit attempt
Yousif Zrayka appeared in the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney on Monday in an attempt to be released on bail after he was arrested over the alleged failed hit of the well-known Sydney figure.
Mr Zrayka, 22, and his co-accused, Siaosi Maeakafa Tupoulahi, were both charged with conspiracy to murder the Kings Cross nightlife tsar after they were arrested in Sydney's eastern suburbs in July last year.
Neither man has entered a plea.
Mr Zrayka is alleged to have been the driver in the botched assassination attempt on Mr Ibrahim in Dover Heights, the court was told.
The court was told on Monday that the two men allegedly stopped two black Range Rovers while they were looking for Mr Ibrahim.
Police allege Mr Zrayka was behind the wheel when Mr Tupoulahi pointed a gun at a woman who was driving her young child in one of the Range Rovers.
The men are alleged to have sped off before a brief police pursuit which ended after the pair got stuck in traffic. John Ibrahim was the subject of an alleged assassination plot. NewsWire/Christian Gilles. Credit: News Corp Australia Footage of an alleged failed botched assassination on John Ibrahim has been revealed. NSW Police Credit: Supplied
Mr Zrayka has been charged with a string of offences including conspiracy to murder, two counts of using an offensive weapon, two counts of possessing an unauthorised pistol, taking and driving a conveyance without the consent of the owner and driving a motor vehicle knowing police were in pursuit.
He has yet to enter a plea.
Mr Zrayka in November last year made a failed bail application to the Supreme Court but applied again on Monday arguing he was not receiving adequate healthcare in prison.
Barrister Ertunc Ozen SC, acting for Mr Zrayka, told the court that his client had been diagnosed with sickle cell disease and was complaining of liver pain and was jaundiced.
Mr Zrayka offered to abide by stringent bail conditions including house arrest and his family and friends offered $2m in property and money as surety.
Mr Ozen described the alleged offence as poorly planned, noting that the men were stationed outside Mr Ibrahim's home at 8.30am on a Monday.
'Their escape planning seems to have been to somehow make it down Old South Head Road at peak hour,' Mr Ozen said.
'The police facts, perhaps mercifully, describe it as being at speeds of less than 50km/h with stopping and starting due to peak hour traffic.' Police found loaded pistols in the vehicle. NSW Police. Credit: News Corp Australia Police also found containers of petrol in the car. NSW Police. Credit: News Corp Australia
Mr Ozen argued that the evidence fell short of proving a plan to murder Mr Ibrahim.
The court heard that two loaded pistols were found in the vehicle and that the two men were wearing gloves and balaclavas.
But Mr Ozen argued their presence could be consistent with a kidnapping or extortion attempt.
His legal team also argued that Mr Zrayka was unlikely to go to trial until late next year.
Acting Justice Derek Price denied the bail application, with the court hearing a fuel canister containing petrol and the keys to other stolen vehicles were found in the car with Mr Zrayka and Mr Tupoulahi.
'The Crown case is that the intended use of the fuel within the canisters was to destroy the stolen vehicle after the offence was committed,' Acting Justice Price said.
The stolen vehicles, which had cloned registration plates, were found parked around the Sydney metropolitan area, the court was told on Monday. The Dover Heights street where the alleged assassination attempt took place. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia The two men allegedly stopped two black Range Rovers. NewsWire/Nikki Short. Credit: News Corp Australia
The court was told on Monday that Mr Zrayka had also been charged over two alleged affrays while in custody.
'Viewing all of the alleged conduct in combination, I assess a very high risk, notwithstanding stringent bail conditions imposed, that the applicant will not comply with them and he will commit a serious offence of violence,' Acting Justice Price said as he denied Mr Zrayka's bail application.
'I assess a very high risk of danger to the community.'
Mr Zrayka and Mr Tupoulahi will appear in court again later this month.
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