A bumbling cocaine syndicate that delivered drugs to thousands of people across the eastern suburbs and city showed off about being untouchable while they were selling to undercover operatives and eating dumplings together in full view of surveillance officers.
The Sun-Herald can now reveal the inner workings of the syndicate after several members pleaded guilty to drug supply offences recently.
Merrylands electrician Andrew Hadi, 30, and Homebush man Beau Greentree, 30, directed the syndicate from home, employing six drivers who worked around the clock to satisfy Sydney's booming appetite for cocaine.
Buyers would text Hadi or Greentree asking for "rock show tickets" or "beers" - code for a 0.5 gram bag of cocaine for $200.
They would dispatch drivers who worked 12-hour shifts, delivering anywhere from the Opera Bar at 1pm to Double Bay house parties at 1am.
Drivers delivered up to 50 bags a shift, earning $150-$200 for every six bags they delivered, according to an agreed statement of facts tendered in the NSW District Court.
One customer was Director of Public Prosecutions solicitor Lisa Munro, who was searched by police after they spotted her hopping out of a car at a known Potts Point drug spot on July 10, 2015. She lost her "dream job" after being charged with drug possession.
Among the drivers was flashy Bondi model and entrepreneur George Gerges, 33, who delivered drugs in his black Lexus.
But the syndicate also appeared to exploit desperate recruits like 42-year-old father-of-five Jeremy Nightingale, who started delivering cocaine because his son was on life support following a car crash.
Another driver, Panania father Michael Bishop, told police he had racked up a cocaine debt to his friend Anslem Lee so agreed to do some "drop offs" a few nights a week.
Each week Hadi and Greentree would organise for drivers to visit Lee, who they referred to as "China", at his Dulwich Hill unit to collect their weekly supply.
Drivers made few efforts to hide their tracks, often making deliveries in their own cars. Bishop even used his father's taxi to deliver a bag to a Woollahra home one night.
After a driver was caught in 2015, police began watching the group.
Their phones were bugged and a listening device was planted in Lee's unit, catching thousands of drug deals in five months.
Undercover officers staged deals and watched members coming and going from Lee's house, even following Lee, Bishop and Hadi to Marrickville's Tra Mi restaurant where the trio ate dumplings.
In one intercepted phone call, Hadi told Gerges that too many drivers weren't lasting because "they are stupid".
Gerges complained about Nightingale, saying his ponytail made him look "suss" and was scaring off female customers.
"Like he's making decent money, he can f---ing buy a collared shirt," he said.
Hadi agreed, saying he'd tell Nightingale to get a haircut, shave and clean his car. He also said he'd tell the Cranebrook father to put an eastern suburbs address on his license.
"If a cop pulls someone over in the east, and their address is f---ing out west somewhere, they will search them straight away," Gerges said.
"Yeah, it will make them look suss, especially if it's late," Hadi said.
The pair boasted about how safe they were, with Gerges saying: "I do my absolute best to minimise my risk."
However, less than 15 minutes later, police swooped and arrested the group in synchronised raids.
Gerges was found with 40 bags of cocaine hidden in his underwear, 110 bags in his gym bag and 32 bags stashed in a first aid kit in his car.
Bishop was arrested outside his home, saying: "Whatever I've done, I've done out of stupidity".
He told officers the syndicate was "a tight ship. And no one would tell you anything, man. There was no questions."
Police believe the syndicate had been operating undetected for some time but, between May and September 2015, officers caught Gerges supplying to 1015 customers, Bishop supplying to 413 and Nightingale to 248.
Lee appeared to be ripping his customers off, distributing 0.5 gram bags that actually weighed around 0.45 grams and with a purity that varied between 55 per cent and 14 per cent.
At one point, customers complained to Gerges saying it was like snorting sugar.
"It's the Chinaman's pride again," Hadi told him. "We told him don't mix them up and give out the shit ones on the weekend. Let them go out on the weekend and use the good stuff during the week. The regulars, they know."
Cocaine use in NSW continues to skyrocket, with arrests for use/possession increasing 22 per cent each year for the last five years.
In the eastern suburbs the picture is even more stark. The use/possession rate in Woollahra is almost 12 times the state average, making it the second highest local government area behind the CBD.
Gerges, Hadi, Greentree, Bishop and Nightingale have pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in the coming months.
The NSW Crime Commission is fighting to freeze Hadi's four-bedroom Merrylands home.