Latest news with #Habkouk
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Prison guard allegedly smuggled phone for drug lord's fake Sydney terror plot
A prison officer is accused of smuggling an encrypted phone into a maximum-security prison which helped a drug lord allegedly orchestrate a fake terror plot in Sydney, Australian Federal Police has claimed in court. Justin James Collier, 26, was working as a guard at the privately run Parklea prison in Sydney's west when he allegedly smuggled in an encrypted device for heroin kingpin Guy Habkouk. Habkouk was awaiting trial in prison over his attempt to import almost 350 kilograms of heroin into Sydney in 2020 with the help of his construction boss brother Wade. The Habkouks, who have both since pleaded guilty to the imports, had tried to sneak the drugs into Sydney in commercial bakery mixers aboard a Malaysia flight. While awaiting trial, the AFP claims Guy Habkouk dreamed up a plan for clemency that would see him walk away with a new identity – he was going to create a terror plot. Collier, the AFP claimed in a statement, snuck Habkouk a phone running the encrypted communications platform known as Ghost. However, unbeknown to users, Ghost had been breached in late 2024 by an AFP operation known as Kraken. Documents, released by the courts relating to a separate alleged Ghost user, say Habkouk was a 'high-value AFP target' and used the handle 'Gunshot' on the encrypted app to make his plans from behind bars. 'He has access to a bomb, a real deal … but we need to get our hands on an electronic detonator,' Habkouk allegedly told an associate via Ghost, according to the documents.
The Age
3 days ago
- The Age
Prison guard allegedly smuggled phone for drug lord's fake Sydney terror plot
A prison officer is accused of smuggling an encrypted phone into a maximum-security prison which helped a drug lord allegedly orchestrate a fake terror plot in Sydney, Australian Federal Police has claimed in court. Justin James Collier, 26, was working as a guard at the privately run Parklea prison in Sydney's west when he allegedly smuggled in an encrypted device for heroin kingpin Guy Habkouk. Habkouk was awaiting trial in prison over his attempt to import almost 350 kilograms of heroin into Sydney in 2020 with the help of his construction boss brother Wade. The Habkouks, who have both since pleaded guilty to the imports, had tried to sneak the drugs into Sydney in commercial bakery mixers aboard a Malaysia flight. While awaiting trial, the AFP claims Guy Habkouk dreamed up a plan for clemency that would see him walk away with a new identity – he was going to create a terror plot. Collier, the AFP claimed in a statement, snuck Habkouk a phone running the encrypted communications platform known as Ghost. However, unbeknown to users, Ghost had been breached in late 2024 by an AFP operation known as Kraken. Documents, released by the courts relating to a separate alleged Ghost user, say Habkouk was a 'high-value AFP target' and used the handle 'Gunshot' on the encrypted app to make his plans from behind bars. 'He has access to a bomb, a real deal … but we need to get our hands on an electronic detonator,' Habkouk allegedly told an associate via Ghost, according to the documents.
