THE attempted extortion of criminal syndicate standover man Ahmad Al Essawi at Wangaratta has been released.
The 23-year-old was sentenced to two years behind bars at Wodonga Magistrates’ Court last Wednesday after he pled guilty to threatening two female tobacco shop employees in Wangaratta and Wodonga on 4 July, 2023.
Both incidents at Wodonga Gifts and Murphy Street’s Ramseen Gifts were recorded by an unidentified co-offender and distributed to suspected underworld crime figures seeking to control the state’s tobacco market.
Following Al Essawi’s threats to burn down the businesses if they didn't close in 24 hours, both stores were firebombed on 27 July that year, with the Wangaratta victim of the extortion attempt rescued by firefighters inside the building that night.
Detectives released footage of the Wodonga extortion attempt on 20 January this year in an effort to identify Al Essawi, who was arrested on 23 January at his Doreen home.
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In the Wangaratta incident, Al Essawi’s imposing 6’4’ build, sporting a black puffer jacket and tracksuit pants can be seen frightening the Ramseen Gifts worker from the rear of the store.
“I’m a reasonable man, but my bosses are unreasonable,” Al Essawi said.
“I’m sorry but your bosses have f***ed around with my people, and my people are not to be f***ed with.
“If you are not out by the next 24 hours, there’s going to be big, big headaches for this shop.
“My job is to send a message, that’s it.”
The Wangaratta victim then calls a co-worker, who speaks over the phone to Al Essawi in Arabic, which was transcribed in court.
After the phone was handed back to her, the frightened store worker then told the defendant she lived at the premises.
“I can’t help you with that, you’ll have to sort it out with the bosses,” Al Essawi said.
The victim of the Wangaratta extortion attempt detailed the deep trauma she had experienced since she was threatened by Al Essawi and subsequently trapped in the building as it was on fire.
A victim impact statement read in court said it had “stolen my life”.
“I have experienced significant trauma throughout my life which I had overcome, but it has come back 10-fold,” the statement read.
Al Essawi was placed on 18 months non-parole as part of his sentence, with the court hearing he had shown no remorse for his offending.
