Customs officials Craig Richard Eakin and Johayna Merhi were amongst those arrested this week after an alleged decade-old smuggling ring was uncovered in Sydney.
They were charged with illegal smuggling of tobacco, receiving a bribe, abusing public office to gain advantage, accessing data with intent to commit an offence, dealing with the proceeds of a crime, and committing an offence at the direction of an organisation.
The charges come after Australian Federal Police held raids throughout Sydney’s south west this week, exposing a slew of alleged corruption within the Australian Border Force that has been apparently happening for at least ten years.
It’s suggested that Eakin and Merhi were part of a group of internal federal public servants who have been working with Sydney’s notorious Jomaa family since as early as 2003, compromising some of the nation’s biggest ports, Botany and Sydney Airport.
It is reported that this internal corruption may have assisted in multiple drug and tobacco importations over the last decade, and leaves folks questioning the legitimacy of Australia’s anti-corruption initiative.
17 people were arrested in Australia, Dubai and the Netherlands this week in relation to drug and tobacco smuggling this week, including two members from John Ibrahim‘s family.
