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A couple prosecuted for trafficking drugs in Wodonga have celebrated their freedom with a marriage proposal outside court, the Border Mail reports.
Mahmoud El-Zayat proposed to his sweetheart, Claudette Tannous, outside Wodonga Magistrates Court after he was released on a 12-month community corrections order on Monday. The pair were arrested in a Wodonga motel in July.
A bystander who captured the proposal on video could be heard asking "What the f--- is going on right now?" when El-Zayat dropped down on one knee.
"Yes," Ms Tannous said, grinning ear to ear.
"Claudie's gonna marry me," El-Zayat said to the camera.
In a Facebook post attached to the video, Tannous wrote; "See this man right here man I would take a bullet straight to my heart for him I would kill for him I would stop everything for this man...Ps YES I WILL BE YOUR WIFE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE."
In their court cases, police said El-Zayat, 43, and Tannous, 22, had been making daily trips in hire cars between Melbourne and Wodonga from March to the time of their arrest.
Inside their hire car and motel room, police found just over 100 grams of methamphetamine, as well as cocaine, marijuana, cash and a homemade gun, the court heard.
Following their arrest, police combed through the thousands of selfies and love dedications on the couple's joint Facebook page and discovered a photo of a grenade.
Further investigation found the grenade inside El-Zayat's car, which had been sitting inside the police impound lot in Melbourne after it was seized in May.
El-Zayat, a father of eight, pleaded guilty to trafficking ice, and possessing guns and a prohibited weapon. He had been in custody before sentencing. Tannous, who was sentenced in August, pleaded guilty to trafficking ice and possessing drugs. She served three months in jail.
with Tammy Mills
