A father of two accused of stealing 42,000 rapid antigen test kits worth more than $500,000 has been released on bail.
Zeshi Wu, 28, was charged with dishonestly obtain property by deception after he allegedly arranged for 42 cartons containing 42,000 RATs to be taken from a freight depot at Botany in Sydney’s south on Tuesday.
The St Ives resident entered no plea when he appeared in Central Local Court on Thursday.
Chief Inspector Brendan Gorman said Mr Wu’s arrest came after three men were reportedly seen leaving the freight depot with the stolen RATs.
“There’s no indication they’ve broken anything to get into those premises, other than they’ve produced something which police will allege allowed those tests to be released,” Inspector Gorman said.
“There was a vehicle used, that vehicle was located sometime later at an address in Rosebery.”
Police arrested three men at a Rosebery storage facility on Wednesday afternoon after a search of storage units was conducted and multiple items seized.
The three men were released without being charged, Mr Wu presented to Mascot Police Station on Wednesday night where he was charged with dishonxjmtzywestly obtaining the test kits, which court documents state were the property of Action Logistics Australia and Jeninno Solutions.
“Police will allege that he was involved in the organisation of the stealing of the rapid antigen tests from that storage facility,” Inspector Gorman said.
“He’s arranged that through a number of electronic means … there’s obviously other people that have obtained the tests from yesterday morning so we encourage them to come forward and provide information to the police.”
Police believe the RATs were taken as part of an attempt profit from soaring unmet demand during Australia’s latest Covid outbreak, with essential workers unable to buy tests and widespread price gouging rendering them unaffordable for many people.
In court, defence lawyer Andrea Song said Mr Wu was a married father of two and permanent Australian resident with no criminal history who had been living in the country for the past seven years.
Magistrate Lisa Viney said while the allegations levelled against Mr Wu were serious, his lack of a criminal history and ties to the community meant conditional bail would be granted.
“These are items which are highly prized medical detection devices used to assist people in the current Covid situation,” she said.
“They are items which are clearly sought by every member of the community and any theft of those has to be treated as a serious matter given the present circumstances.”
To comply with bail Mr Wu must report to police three times a week and not go near or contact any prosecution witnesses.
If he fails to comply with bail, a $50,000 offer of surety will be forfeited to the court.
The case is due to return to court on February 7.
