澳大利亚烟纸店老板比拉尔·博梅勒姆（Bilal Bou-Melhem）在今年2月遭四名蒙面男子绑架并被索要50万澳元赎金后获救，两周后被新南威尔士州警察以非法烟草、犯罪团伙和武器罪名逮捕[1]。警方对其位于悉尼北西部Dural及Mount Pritchard的场所进行搜查，缴获近250公斤非法烟草、约80万根香烟、5.4万澳元现金和4支复制枪支[1]。
监狱电话录音证据显示，博梅勒姆在获救后继续从事走私业务，并威胁举报者[1]。法官驳回了他的保释申请，认为他对社区安全构成威胁[1]。博梅勒姆曾因2008年涉嫌毒品走私被判8年监禁，并于2014年获释[1]。此外，他28岁的儿子马哈茂德（Mahmoud）也在5月因类似的烟草和非法所得罪名被控[1]。
Bilal Bou-Melhem, an Australian tobacconist, has been arrested and charged with illegal tobacco trafficking, organized crime, and weapons offenses following a police investigation into his black market operation [1]. The charges come approximately two weeks after Bou-Melhem was rescued from a kidnapping in February, during which four masked men demanded a ransom of $500,000 [1].
Police raids uncovered an extensive contraband network, seizing nearly 250 kilograms of illicit tobacco, approximately 800,000 cigarettes, $54,000 in cash, and four replica firearms from locations in Sydney's northwest including Dural and Mount Pritchard [1]. Evidence from prison telephone recordings revealed that Bou-Melhem attempted to continue operating his smuggling enterprise while in custody and made threats against informants [1]. A court rejected Bou-Melhem's bail application, with the judge citing threats to community safety [1].
Bou-Melhem's criminal history includes a previous eight-year prison sentence imposed in 2008 for alleged drug trafficking, from which he was released in 2014 [1]. His 28-year-old son, Mahmoud, was separately charged in May with similar tobacco trafficking and money laundering offenses [1].