Sydney café owner avoids jail for supplying 260 bags of cocaine

The owner of a popular café in Sydney has avoided jail after subsidising his income through the supply of 260 bags of cocaine.

The well-known Ali Berro narrowly avoided jail after pleading guilty to drug supply and dealing with the proceeds of crime.

During sentencing, the court took into consideration allegations of involvement in a criminal organisation and possession of illicit substances. According to agreed-upon facts, law enforcement initiated an investigation into a cocaine distribution network employing a disposable phone in November 2022, conducting surveillance on multiple drug transactions until February of the following year.

The investigation revealed that clients would place orders for cocaine, which would then be either delivered to them or made available for pickup. Among the individuals linked to the operation of the disposable phone was Berro, along with five others.

After analysing the phone, authorities discovered that Berro had coordinated and confirmed 122 orders between November 2, 2022, and February 16, 2023, amounting to 260 bags containing 137.8 grams of cocaine. It was noted that Berro occasionally offered discounts to customers, and deliveries were made to various suburbs in Sydney.

Berro was apprehended in February of the subsequent year at Espresso Brothers Cafe, where police found the disposable phone in his possession. Additionally, officers discovered 2.01 grams of methylamphetamine in a bag on his person before taking him into custody at Newtown police station. A subsequent search of his residence in Roselands revealed $9940 in cash suspected of being derived from criminal activities.

During the court proceedings on Thursday, Berro's legal representative, Elias Tabchouri, argued that his client was not the mastermind behind the operation and advocated against a custodial sentence. Tabchouri emphasised Berro's positive attributes, including his ownership of two cafes and his abstinence from alcohol and drugs since the time of the offense.

“He accepts all of his wrongdoing,” Tabchouri said.

“He’s done a lot of work … his actions speak much louder than my words.”

The Crown prosecutor alleged Berro “played a significant role in the drug supply operation” and there was “no [appropriate] penalty other than imprisonment.
Magistrate Daniel Covington was more lenient after taking into a PTSD diagnosis and a stimulant use disorder which he said was now in remission.

He accepted “things spiralled out of control” for Berro, but decided against a jail term even though threshold for jail was “comfortably crossed”.

Berro was handed a 12-month intensive correction order.

Jonathan Jackson, 19^th February 2024