Real estate agents are among a group of people charged over a scheme which allegedly used rental properties to grow cannabis and the names of unsuspecting people to claim thousands of dollars in Covid rental relief payments.
NSW Police dismantled a number of sophisticated cannabis labs set up within homes around Fairfield, in Sydney’s south west, between July and August last year when the city was in a strict lockdown.
Detectives seized an estimated $2 million of the drug and established a strike force to investigate the alleged criminal syndicate.
With the help of Fair Trading, investigators linked the properties to several large-scale fraudulent applications submitted under the NSW Government Covid-19 Residential Tenancy Support Package Scheme.
Officers arrested six people on Wednesday, including a 52-year-old real estate agent at a vehicle stop at Cecil Hills about 7am.
He was taken to Fairfield Police Station.
Police seized $5000 in cash and mobile phones in the man’s car.
He was charged with 10 offences, including knowingly direct the activities of a criminal group, cultivate prohibited plants and use false document to obtain financial advantage.
A 44-year-old man was then arrested at a Bonnyrigg home while officers executed a search warrant at a home at Cecil Hills, where several items were seized for further examination.
He was also taken to Fairfield Police Station and charged with cultivate prohibited plant (commercial quantity), and participate criminal group contribute xjmtzywcriminal activity.
Both men were refused bail to appear at Fairfield Local Court on Thursday.
Later on Wednesday two 35-year-old men and a 37-year-old woman were arrested at Fairfield Police Station.
The 35-year-old Middleton Grange man, who is also a real estate agent, was charged with nine offences including participate in a criminal group, cultivate prohibited plants, dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception, knowingly deal with proceeds of crime and make false documents to obtain financial advantage.
The 35-year-old Smithfield man was charged with participate criminal group contribute criminal activity and two counts of cultivate prohibited plant (commercial quantity).
The 37-year-old woman and real estate agent was charged with eight offences including participate in a criminal group, dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception, knowingly deal with proceeds of crime, make false document to obtain financial advantage and use false document to obtain financial advantage.
All three were refused bail and are due to appear at Fairfield Local Court on Thursday.
A 23-year-old man was also arrested at Marrickville about 10am.
He was charged with participate criminal group contribute criminal activity and four counts of cultivate prohibited plant (commercial quantity).
The younger man appeared at Newtown Local Court on Wednesday and was granted strict conditional bail to reappear at Fairfield Local Court in May.
Detective Inspector Luke Scott said several of the syndicate’s members allegedly facilitated the frauds by abusing their jobs in real estate.
“We will be alleging these people used their position as trusted insiders in the real estate industry to defraud their own clientele and public money meant for those who need it most,” Inspector Scott said.
“The properties that were allegedly utilised by this syndicate to grow cannabis were subleased to members of the public who had no idea their name was on the lease agreement, as was the case when it came to the fraudulently obtained rental relief and bond payments.
“The nature of this fraud is particularly scandalous and predatory; the community won’t tolerate it, and those involved now have our court system to answer to.”
