How Does COVID-19 Affect Bail Applications in NSW?
By Fouad Awada and Jimmy Singh. On 30 March 2020, the Supreme Court of New South Wales handed down a decision granting conditional bail to Mr Abdul Rakielbakhour who was accused and charged with serious domestic violence charges. Mr Rakielbakhour was arrested and charged with common assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, alleged ...continue reading
How Former Prison Guard Used Cereal Boxes to Conceal and Traffic Contraband into Place of Detention
By Sahar Adatia and Jimmy Singh. In the confines of a prison, where everyday luxuries are at best a fantasy, the temptation to smuggle in goods is profound. In the desperation for creature comforts, many of which in prisons are deemed prohibited items, smugglers turn to all kinds of inventive ways to traffic in ...continue reading
Australia’s Growing Illicit Drug Consumption
Australia has spent over $11b on prohibited drugs just last year. In fact, reports say that while the Sydney community is consuming less alcohol, consumption of prohibited drugs have increased, namely cocaine methylamphetamine and nicotine. From the $11.3b spent on drugs by our nation last year, just over $8b of it was on methylamphetamine. ...continue reading
What are the Rules Around NSW Police Strip Searching a Person?
241,000 is the number that has been given to NSW Police Officers, representing the quota for conducting personal searches, including strip searches on people for the 2019 financial year. In fact, in 2019, NSW Police failed to meet its quota by just under 2000 searches. NSW Greens managed to obtained the shocking revelation through the ...continue reading
What is a Criminal Lawyers’ Role?
Criminal lawyers represent people from all walks of life. Unfortunately, movies and TV shows have portrayed criminal lawyers in a bad light, prompting members of the public asking the question criminal lawyers get asked too often, “but how can you defend a criminal?”, or “how can you defend a guilty person?”. Too often we ...continue reading
Penalties & Defences for Importing Commercial Quantity of MDMA into Australia
It is reported that two men have allegedly tried to import 645kg of MDMA drugs from Cyprus to Sydney by hiding it in aluminium BBQ’s. Police allege that the drugs were being imported to Sydney in 200 aluminium barbeques in July last year. Following an investigation lasting 6-months, authorities have arrested two men, a ...continue reading
How Does the On-The-Spot Fine for Drug Possession Work and When Can it Be Applied?
It is reported that a LEGO shaped MDMA strand has emerged containing 3 times the usual dose. As a result, authorities have been trying to issue warnings in the lead of the New Year’s Eve after the prohibited drug was discovered in the far North of NSW. Professor Andrew Dawson from the NSW Poisons ...continue reading
Law, Penalties & Defences for Supplying Commercial Quantity of Prohibited Drugs in NSW
It’s reported that 23-year-old Grace Poo tried to smuggle close to 1,600 capsules of MDMA party drugs into the Midnight Mafia music festival at Sydney Olympic Park on 5 May 2018. Poo planned to smuggle the party drugs by secreting it her bra and vagina before she was detected by police sniffer dogs at ...continue reading
New Laws in ACT Legalise Cannabis Possession and Cultivation
31 January 2020 is the date that the ACT legalises the cultivation of cannabis and possession of cannabis. This doesn’t come without its restrictions though… This means, that the ACT has now passed a bill which effectively allows anyone who is at least 18-years-of-age to grow up to two cannabis plants and possess up ...continue reading
Law and Penalties for Possessing Cocaine in NSW
It’s reported that a 5-year-old school boy attended his kindergarten class with a bag of cocaine. Last week, the 5-year-old boy showed the cocaine to his teacher at the Lawrence Elementary School in Massachusetts, USA. When showing the drugs to his teacher, it is reported the boy also told the teacher that he puts ...continue reading