$7000 fine for carrying loaded gun

A MAN arrested in a Surfers Paradise apartment hallway carrying a loaded gun and a suitcase of petrol was fined only $7000 after leading police to a number of guns in NSW, it can be revealed.

Sydney man, Kamel Khatib, 31, was arrested on November 7 last year when police saw him heading to a 48th-floor apartment in the Soul building where convicted standover man Waled Elriche was being swooped on by Taskforce Maxima.

Khatib was charged with several offences after he was found with a gift bag containing a 0.22 calibre semiautomatic pistol and a five-litre jerry can of petrol. He yesterday pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a weapon. The other two charges were dropped.

Khatib was fined $7000 and had no conviction recorded.

Outside court, defence lawyer Campbell MacCallum, of Moloney MacCallum Lawyers, said Khatib had co-operated with the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad “without naming any persons” and helped them track down a number firearms and get them “off the street” in NSW.

Mr MacCallum said Khatib’s co-operation helped in him getting a lesser sentence.

After being sentenced, Khatib is believed to have been charged with breaching a bail condition in April this year by being on the Gold Coast.