EXCLUSIVE 

She may be known as the glamourous girlfriend of Australia’s once most wanted man, but long before Jade Heffer found herself caught up in Sydney’s underworld, she was a small town country girl, working as a Coles butcher to make ends meet. 

And now, the two-time gangster WAG is heading back to her roots after being granted bail on Thursday under the condition she reside with her parents in her hometown of Barham, in regional southwest NSW. 

Heffer, 28, was arrested on August 4 after allegedly hindering police who turned up at her partner Ahmad ‘Alan’ Alameddine’s Greenacre home, in Sydney‘s west, to check if he was complying with a firearms ban. 

Alameddine, 33, allegedly escaped and went on the run for a month while Heffer remained in jail – until he was arrested on September 6 after being busted engaging in a sex act with another woman inside a ramshackle unit in South Coogee. 

Heffer, who was briefly married to Lone Wolf bikie Yusuf Nazlioglu before he was shot dead in front of her in June 2022, faced the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday via video link from Dillwynia women’s prison, in northwest Sydney. 

Dressed in prison greens with her blonde hair in a plait, Heffer – who turned to Islam after her husband’s death – sat clutching a small book, occasionally adjusting her large, gold-rimmed glasses. 

The court heard Heffer’s mother Leanne and her partner had made the more than  eight hour drive from their home in the Riverina region to attend the hearing. 

Reading out Heffer’s bail application, Justice Natalie Adams noted Heffer was charged with hindering police before admitting to handling a firearm that Alameddine allegedly had in his possession, despite being subject to a firearms ban.

Justice Adams said Heffer had no criminal history except for a driving matter and the fact Alameddine was in custody ‘diminished the risk’ for her being bailed as her main [alleged] offence was helping him escape.

‘She grew up in a country town, moved to Melbourne then to Sydney,’ Justice Adams said.

‘She married in Sydney then she watched her husband be shot in front of her. 

‘After that, she formed another relationship with a person is is said to be associated with another criminal gang, as was her ex husband.

‘[Reading this psychology report] it would seem she suffers from PTSD [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder] which is unsurprising.’ 

Heffer’s lawyer provided Justice Adams with a list of proposed bail conditions, noting some changes would need to be made to the suggested daily reporting hours of 8am-8pm.

He said this was because his legal team had been unable to ascertain the opening hours of Barham police station as their multiple calls to the facility had gone unanswered.

The prosecution said he was ‘dubious’ about the location and suggested Heffer be required to report to a police station in one of the larger towns nearby, such as Deniliquin or Moama.

While Justice Adams conceded there was concerns Heffer may seek to help Alameddine ‘in his activities’, she said the risk was mitigated by the ‘strong’ conditions and she could report to Deniliquin police over the phone if Barham police station was closed.

Granting bail, Justice Adams ordered Heffer to refrain from approaching or communicating with prosecution witnesses – which includes Alameddine.

She is not allowed to leave home unless accompanied by either her mother Leanne or father Brian, reporting to police, attending court, meeting her lawyers, or getting medical treatment. 

She must also surrender her passport to police, not go within 1000 metres of any Australian departure point, reside only at either her mother or father’s house, and not own more than one phone or sim card. 

Alameddine’s sister Susan was also granted bail in the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday, after she was arrested at the same time as Heffer and charged with allegedly hindering police trying to arrest her brother.

The siblings’ relatives were seen outside Dillwynia Women’s Correctional Centre on Thursday, meeting Susan as she was released. 

As Heffer prepares to head back to the country, photos have surfaced of her very different former life in her hometown – where she was lauded for her athletic prowess.

During her youth, the former fitness instructor participated in a number of sports – including netball and Tennis.  

While attending Barham High School, she won Sportswoman of the year twice – in 2009 and 2011 – and also claimed the Central Murray Football League’s Badged Umpire of the Year trophy. 

Pictures posted online reveal, in her early years, Heffer worked at Coles, spent time studying at university, and enjoyed going to the races with friends.

Her family are well respected members within the Barham community, which is home to around just 1518 people. 

Heffer’s grandmother Marj Ryland is the CEO and Managing director of the local Bendigo Bank Agency, her mother Leanne has been the treasurer of the town’s Anglican Church for 27 years, and her father Brian runs an engineering business. 

Her matter is next due before Burwood Local Court on September 27.