by Cam Lucadou-Wells
A man has been jailed for drug trafficking after nearly a kilo of powder was seized from his hire-car in Dandenong.
Latif Latif, 24, pleaded guilty at the Victorian County Court to trafficking a commercial quantity of cocaine – which is punishable by a mandatory jail term.
Police spotted Latif in the drivers’ seat of a RAV vehicle outside a real estate agency on Princes Highway in the early hours of 9 February 2022.
They seized deal bags of coke, a small safe, four phones, a set of scales as well as $380 cash.
In total, 912 grams of powder was discovered in 20 bags, ranging up to 78 per cent purity.
The substance comprised about 635 grams of pure cocaine – just short of the defined ‘large commercial’ quantity.
In sentencing on 5 July, judge Gabriele Cannon noted there was no direct evidence of Latif selling cocaine but it was “obvious” that was his motivation.
He had claimed he was holding the cocaine for others, and being “drip-fed” the drugs as payment. However there was not much evidence for this, Judge Cannon said.
On the other hand, Latif appeared to be leading an intermittent lifestyle, rather than a lavish one. He was living out of hotel rooms and the hire-car at the time, using a mix of cocaine, cannabis and meth.
There was no evidence on how Latif paid for the hire car or the significant amount of drugs.
“I’m unable to find you to be the head of the enterprise.”
The Afghan-born refugee grew up in prolific violence, including surviving a bomb blast that killed 600 in a market at Quetta, Pakistan as a 10 year old.
Settling with family in Dandenong in 2016, he succumbed to a “party lifestyle”.
His daily cocaine habit was also linked to being traumatized from being kidnapped and seriously bashed in 2021.
While on bail last year, Latif took steps forward in three months of residential rehab. After his discharge, he occasionally returned to chat with clients and he kept off drugs.
Judge Cannon noted Latif was anxious about being potentially deported as a result of his crime.
She noted his “rather good” rehabilitation prospects, young age and his albeit late plea of guilty.
Latif was jailed for up to four years, with a two-year non-parole period. His term includes 573 days in pre-sentence remand.
