Haddara, 37, was the target of Skyborne, a Santiago taskforce operation, which concealed listening devices and cameras at his panel beating shop in Williamstown North.
Sentencing Haddara on Thursday, County Court judge Felicity Hampel said she was satisfied that he had been the ringleader of a methamphetamine trafficking enterprise spanning nine months.
She said Haddara’s life appeared to have “unravelled” after watching his brother die from a drive-by shooting six years ago, describing it as “a lawless existence”.
The charges of trafficking and weapons possession, to which Haddara pleaded guilty, were the most serious charges he has faced during an extensive history of criminal activity, the court heard.
Between May 2013 and March 2014, the Santiago taskforce observed him selling 395 grams of crystal methamphetamine and several guns. He was also a prolific ice user himself, sometimes smoking up to five grams of the drug each day.
On one occasion, Haddara was so addled by his consumption he accidentally discharged a handgun, with two bullets narrowly avoiding an associate in the panel beating shop.
On March 4 last year, police investigators listened to Haddara assault another associate he suspected of informing against him.
“You double-crossed me, so you can pay me. Your gonna cop …… holes, ya …… rat”, Haddara reportedly said.
Two weeks later, Haddara was arrested as part of sweeping raids, which detectives believe dealt a significant blow to a growing drug empire in Melbourne’s west.
The Santiago taskforce was established to investigate a spate of shootings linked to the Haddara family and rival Middle Eastern families, including the Chaouks.
Haddara suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome symptoms as a result of seeing his brother’s die in 2009. He believes his brother’s death was perpetrated by the Chaouk family, the court heard.
Haddara has four children to his wife and another child with a pregnant second partner.
Ms Hampel said Haddara had shown a “total disregard for living within the law”, and sentenced him to a total sentence of 23 months, effective immediately, and three years of treatment on a community corrections order. No non-parole period was set.
– with The Age
