During a bail application on Tuesday, prosecutor Devesh Gopal said He posed an “unacceptable risk” of fleeing to another country, including China, where he is a citizen. He is also an Australian citizen and has been living in Australia for 17 years, the court heard.
“There is an avenue for him to flee to another jurisdiction and a jurisdiction in which there is no real prospect of him being extradited from,” Gopal told the court.
Gopal said He had “criminal associations” and access to funds that would help him flee the country. He had been receiving Centrelink payments since the “collapse” of his company, his barrister, Anthony Parsons, told the court.
Parsons said his client had used the proceeds of the sale of two homes in Sydney to fund a gambling addiction. He’s wife and four children, aged between eight and 12, as well as a mortgage on the home he was arrested in reduced his risk of fleeing, Parsons said.
Magistrate Daniel Covington refused He bail to appear in Downing Centre Local Court on February 4.
One of He’s fellow syndicate members, accused of laundering more than $7.8 million alleged to be the proceeds of crime, was arrested on November 14 and charged with dealing with proceeds of crime worth more than $1 million.
A revolver was seized during the raids.Credit: AFP
The 29-year-old man was also charged with a number of firearms offences after a revolver was allegedly found at a Merrylands home along with 15 rounds of ammunition, four mobile phones, bank cards and documents. He was refused bail at Parramatta Local Court and remanded in custody to reappear in the same court on January 23.
Two other syndicate members were charged with a raft of offences after raids on properties in Burwood, Auburn and Wentworth on Monday.
A 26-year-old man, Xudong Yao, was arrested in Burwood and charged with dealing with the proceeds of crime and failing to comply with a digital evidence order after police seized $108,000 in cash, more than a million illicit cigarettes, two kilograms of loose-leaf tobacco, a Rolex watch and electronic devices. Yao did not apply for bail in Burwood Local Court on Tuesday.
On the same day, police stopped a truck in Chester Hill allegedly carrying about a million illicit cigarettes. The seized cigarettes are worth more than $2.1 million on the street, police said. Police believe the cigarettes were destined for tobacconists selling the illegal products across Sydney.
The truck driver, Wucheng Su, 32, was charged with possessing more than 50 times the commercial quantity of illicit tobacco and dealing with the proceeds of crime. Su did not apply for bail in Bankstown Local Court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody to appear in court on December 17.
NSW Police organised crime squad commander Peter Faux said legislation introduced this year allowed detectives to “target organised crime entities that think that they can use illicit tobacco as a form of making proceeds of crime”.
“Tobacco has been an opportunity for the underworld to make money,” Faux said.
Under the new laws, an individual convicted of selling illicit tobacco faces a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment or fines of up to $1.54 million.
“This should be a clear message to those who are involved in the illicit tobacco industry that it’s highly likely that there can be, and there will be, consequences,” Faux said.
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