“No bro lol mines 900 kegs inshallah landing 1 week,” the response reads.
Bennet Schwartz,arrested on Friday,has been questioned over the whereabouts of Mostafa Baluch.Credit:Nine News
Associate:“Oh no way spewin how did hoppo come in the picture.”
An alleged co-conspirator of Baluch’s,according to police allegations,was Mende Trajkoski,who came to the attention of authorities for gambling$166 million as a high roller at Sydney’s Star casino over 13 years,despite working as a part-time courier.
In late May,police allege the syndicate was confident it had succeeded with the large cocaine shipment. But it had been intercepted by the US Coast Guard off the coast of South America in April and the cargo was replaced with a “sham load” that was sent to the intended delivery address in NSW. After the shipment was accessed,police swooped and arrested all those allegedly involved.
Baluch is also facing three separate counts of importing a commercial quantity of a banned substance for an alleged scheme bringing in smaller amounts of cocaine via air cargo. One alleged co-conspirator,eastern suburbs businessman Bennet Schwartz,was arrested and charged on Friday,and has faced questioning over a meeting with Baluch hours before his disappearance.
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“He has provided no information as to Baluch’s location at this time,but inquiries are continuing with our NSW Police Force partners in this investigation into Baluch’s whereabouts,” Australian Federal Police Superintendent Matthew Parsons said on Saturday.
Baluch’s apparent wealth and connections – he has allegedly spoken of having access to $30 million in personal capital and positioning to control the local cocaine market,as theHerald revealed on Thursday – were key reasons police had opposed his bail application.
In late May,he told one associate he was in a position to pay for 500 kilograms of cocaine himself and stated “I have money to cover the load”,police documents allege.
Less than four days after being granted bail by a magistrate at Sydney Central Local Court,Baluch vanished. Breaking off his ankle monitor around 10.40pm on Monday night,he set about trying to flee Australia,police say.
Almost a week later,he is still on the loose. Police have appealed to the public for information,revealing his travels in the hours after the tracker was disabled.
Police believe Baluch was hiding in the back seat of this black Range Rover early on Tuesday morning.
Around 2.30am on Tuesday morning,investigators believe he was hiding in the back seat of a black Range Rover heading east on the M4 at Concord.
“I can tell you for sure that he’s very,very focused on leaving the jurisdiction and I can tell you for certain that he’s seeking assistance from those who will fly him out of NSW and out of the country,” Detective Superintendent Rob Critchlow,organised crime squad commander,said on Wednesday.
Police believe Baluch,whose parents migrated to Australia from Afghanistan,is still in Australia and they are hopeful of recapturing him. If he is successful in getting overseas,repatriation could be extremely difficult. Police say he has associates and relatives in Serbia and the United Arab Emirates,although his exact travel plans are unknown.
Baluch’s alleged underworld activities might have come as a shock to those familiar with now-closed restaurants Cervo in Northbridge and Manly Pizza and Wine,which he once owned,and the Baluch family’s other restaurants and cafés.
Mostafa Baluch,charged over his alleged role in a drug importation syndicate,is wanted for allegedly breaching bail.
One person who has had professional dealings with Baluch in the past says he came across as a hands-on business owner who didn’t appear to be involved in anything untoward.
A Baluch family property in Newport now stands to be forfeited to the government after it was offered up as $4 million worth of security in his successful bail application.
Baluch’s relatives and known associates,like Schwartz,have been subject to intense pressure and scrutiny by authorities as part of the national effort to locate him.
The family are not accused of any wrongdoing and there is no suggestion they were involved in his alleged activities.
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