A Berkeley man accused of dropping drugs out of a Mercedes-Benz window as he hit speeds of 200kmh during a police chase has denied it was him behind the wheel.
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Feras Abdul-Hamid has pleaded not guilty to possessing a prohibited drug, speeding in excess of 45kmh, and driving dangerously in a police pursuit.
The 42-year-old's Wollongong District Court trial began on Monday as the allegations against him were aired by the Crown.
The court heard police patrolling Alexandria about 3.50am on April 12 2021 attempted to pull over a white Mercedes-Benz speeding past them in the opposite direction.
Senior Constable Nicholas Floro, who took to the witness stand, said Abdul-Hamid was the sole occupant of the Mercedes and took a U-turn to stop the vehicle as it drove towards Newtown.
Abdul-Hamid was allegedly seen throwing small plastic bags from the car window at least three times as he slowed and then accelerated throughout the chase.
He allegedly hit speeds of more than 200kmh in a 50kmh zone as Abdul-Hamid allegedly narrrowly dodged a Toyota Hilux. Constable Floro was forced to stop the pursuit due to the dangerous speeds, he told the jury.
Officers then searched the area and found a small clear plastic bag containing a prohibited drug on the corner of King and Alice Street in Newtown, with the Mercedes found two days later in Brighton-Le-Sands.
Checks revealed the car was registered in Abdul-Hamid's then wife Suzanna Ristevska. The court heard she told police she reported the car as stolen as it was last seen in Dapto prior to the chase.
Mobile phone tower data allegedly tracked Abdul-Hamid was at St Peters and Sydenham during when the chase occurred, and that he, another man, and his wife's fingerprints were lifted from the steering wheel
The trial before Judge Andrew Haesler is expected to run for the next two days.
Read more Illawarra court and crime stories here.
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
