Al Ahmad Mussa, 40, faced ACT Supreme Court sentencing over drug trafficking. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
A man who used his business’s hydraulic press for drug trafficking will be behind bars until at least early 2027.
Al Ahmad Mussa, 40, faced the ACT Supreme Court for sentencing over charges related to the trafficking of cocaine and methamphetamine.
In June 2023, Mussa and his co-offender, then-34-year-old Andrew James O’Keefe, cut cocaine with boric acid in the garage of One Stop Tyre and Auto in Fyshwick.
O’Keefe would also drive to Melbourne to pick up the meth, until police intercepted his van on his way back from Melbourne on the Barton Highway.
On Friday (1 August), Justice Louise Taylor said both men were “foot soldiers” and “entirely dispensable”, though Mussa had been less involved in the scheme than O’Keefe.
However, his involvement showed Mussa was “considered [to be] trustworthy by those higher up in the chain of command”.
The CCTV from this shop would record their actions, which “significantly enhanced” the case against the men.
“The offender had a hands-on role … [he] provided and operated a hydraulic press,” Justice Taylor said.
Mussa pleaded guilty in August 2024 to two counts of trafficking a commercial quantity of a controlled drug.
Justice Taylor was satisfied he had been motivated by “dire financial circumstances” at the time, after the family’s business had gone into debt during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“He intended any financial benefit he realised from his participation in his offending to directly improve those circumstances,” she said.
The court heard he had worked extra hours and sold thousands of dollars worth of personal items.
A court report author also drew a “direct nexus to the offending” from Mussa’s mental health at the time and judged him to have a low risk of general reoffending.
Since his offending, he had reduced his substance use, had a network of pro-social friends and was regularly engaged in his community. He also had no relevant criminal history.
Character references put to the court also described Mussa as a “family man”, while his offending was said to be “shocking and out of character” for him.
Mussa had also written two court letters, in which he took responsibility and expressed remorse for his crime.
Justice Taylor said that while Mussa had “excellent” prospects of rehabilitation and full-time imprisonment would bring “regrettable consequences”, there remained a need to deter others from drug trafficking.
“[This is] an example of the very real risk an offender takes when they align [themselves with people] who exploit and profit from the very real harm of drug use,” she said.
Mussa was handed a sentence of about four years and five months’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period lasting until April 2027.
His sentence was also backdated 44 days to account for time spent in custody.
In July 2024, O’Keefe was sentenced to a total of six years’ imprisonment for his involvement in the drug trafficking.
I agree. Apart from formal restaurants, most places stop serving coffee at 2:30pm or not much later.… View