BUSTED has some big, juicy, black market import stories for this week with Rohan and Heath taking you on what goes on behind the news. Mexican drug cartels are bombarding Australian borders with illegal drugs.

As the saying goes, a zebra can’t change it’s stripes and that seems to be the case for old alleged underworld figure Kevin Theobald. Theobald was arrested with several other old alleged gansters.

Continuing with the theme of black markets – AstraZeneca is warning about fake COVID vaccines coming in to Australia, and the ABF worried about the disturbing trend of illegal dog collars coming into Australia.

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Time stamps and stories:

00:01​ – Intro

00:56​ – Mexican drug cartels on rise https://bit.ly/3wTMseg​

04:00​ – Kevin Victor Theobald arrested in Condell Park police raid https://bit.ly/3aaQCV7​

06:26​ – Black market vaccine fight as COVID rollout tempts criminals https://bit.ly/2OK7wT2​

09:36​ – Australian Border Force issues warning after spike in detection of dangerous ‘pronged’ dog collars

https://bit.ly/3siDdk9​

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BUSTED cuts through the fluff of the mainstream news by bringing you everything you need to know about crime in your community. BUSTED’s weekly commentary gives you the best access to experts, Rohan Pike and Heath Michael, as they explain to you the tricks of the criminal trade and the latest methods police are using to bust these bad guys!

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sydney siders behaving badly! This week Rohan and Michael discuss the increase of dial-a-dealers getting caught, often using the lack of adequate employment as an excuse when being sentenced.

The BUSTED boys also discuss a wild brawl in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs involving the notorious Alameddine family.

They then look at a former Olympian and his brother’s elaborate plan to smuggle cocaine into Australia – only to try and claim it was tobacco if they got caught.

Finally, a doctor’s daughter and her girlfriend robbing a petrol station using an axe! Only hours after posting pictures of themselves online rock climbing!

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Time stamps and stories:

00:01 – Intro

00:38 - Malik Mohammad: Edmonson Park law student convicted of cocaine dial a deal

https://bit.ly/3urLrYG

02:40 - Richard Le: Green Valley dial a dealer convicted for cocaine supply

https://bit.ly/3cVFLAl

04:10 - Richad Alameddine, Ay Huncho in wild Potts Point brawl

https://bit.ly/3fSQa1t

06:20 - Baggaley brothers deny ‘tobacco’ was coke smuggling cover-story

https://bit.ly/3uuJbjg

09:41 - Doctor's daughter and her lover pose for an innocent rock climbing picture just hours before police allege they went on a crime spree and robbed three petrol stations

https://bit.ly/2Os4mDj

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BUSTED cuts through the fluff of the mainstream news by bringing you everything you need to know about crime in your community. BUSTED’s weekly commentary gives you the best access to experts, Rohan Pike and Heath Michael, as they explain to you the tricks of the criminal trade and the latest methods police are using to bust these bad guys!

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week Rohan and Heath take a look at crime syndicates in Australia. Not quite ‘The Syndicate’ from Mission Impossible – but some very sophisticated organised crime groups operating in the community. They will take a look at how criminal organisations (the syndicates) interact, how they work to hide their nefarious behaviour and ultimately how they get caught.

From Bondi Boomers in their 60s committing $6 million in fraud and hiding their ill-gotten gains, to how local pubs and clubs are targeted by criminal syndicates as a way to clean their ‘dirty’ money.

Rohan and Heath also look at another huge bust by the Illicit Tobacco Taskforce who disrupt the activity of two alleged organised crime syndicates seizing one tonne of tobacco. And police disrupting an alleged criminal syndicate caught with 2000 cannabis plants.

Finally Busted take a look how criminals are taking advantage of bitcoin to launder their money.

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Time stamps and stories:

00:01​ – Intro

01:00​ – ‘Bondi boomer couple convicted of $6m fraud’ https://bit.ly/3czIBJS​

03:47​ – ‘ClubsNSW whistleblower reveals the alarming scale of money laundering in pokies rooms at local clubs and pubs’ http://ab.co/2NIDhvn​

07:40​ – ‘Illegal tobacco taskforce targets international and domestic tobacco smuggling rings’ http://bit.ly/3cI7jHR​

11:10​ – ‘Four charged over alleged criminal syndicate as $6m cannabis seized’ http://bit.ly/3rVUYq6​

14: 00 – ‘Money launderers for hire: 6 charged over allegedly funnelling $5m through bitcoin’ http://bit.ly/3vyVkVS​

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BUSTED cuts through the fluff of the mainstream news by bringing you everything you need to know about crime in your community. BUSTED’s weekly commentary gives you the best access to experts, Rohan Pike and Heath Michael, as they explain to you the tricks of the criminal trade and the latest methods police are using to bust these bad guys!

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Most gangs are well-organised and well-funded, with highly sophisticated money laundering operations in place to keep funding their activities.

The scale of their operations came to the fore recently, when a joint police task force uncovered 400 tonnes of illicit tobacco crops, planted out in the open for anyone to come across, worth $84 million. It is the largest raid of its kind in Australia’s history.

You can’t understate the arrogance of the criminals who set up this operation, but they’ve clearly been getting away with it for some time and that is definitely worrying.

The connection between the tobacco farm, organised criminal syndicates and more is something Heath and Rohan outline clearly in this episode .

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00:01​ – Intro

01:08​ – Nine people were stabbed at a party on Spencer Street in Melbourne’s CBD during the long weekend break, leaving one man in a critical condition.

http://ab.co/3eETo8h​

04:25​ – A man in Bulleen in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs has been assaulted in a terrifying home invasion, which left his front door hanging off its hinges.

http://bit.ly/2OzW2l4​

05:50​ – Flamboyant Instagram personality, Gold Coast businessman Kenneth Williams, aka ‘Candyman 2.0’ has been accused of dangerous driving.

http://bit.ly/2Q48gmh​

07:48​ – Mongols Bikies’ push for turf has moved from Melbourne’s northern suburbs into central Victoria, with six new gang members being initiated in the last month alone.

http://bit.ly/30PAm73​

10:43​ A joint ABF, NSW Police and Victoria Police taskforce has destroyed a whopping $84.3 million worth of tobacco crops, in one of the biggest busts seen to date in Australia.

http://bit.ly/3lkPNNP​

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BUSTED cuts through the fluff of the mainstream news by bringing you everything you need to know about crime in your community. BUSTED’s weekly commentary gives you the best access to experts, Rohan Pike and Heath Michael, as they explain to you the tricks of the criminal trade and the latest methods police are using to bust these bad guys!

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

All criminal enterprises present a worrying threat to Australians’ security. Lately, the threat seems to be coming from syndicates based in the Middle East – but the media haven’t been consistent in the way they cover this issue.

That’s why in today’s first episode of BUSTED Investigations, our criminal expert Rohan Pike, will be outlining why he believes these organisations pose a great risk to our communities right here in Australia.

This pilot is covering it all. From how crims are smuggling in things like drugs and tobacco, to funding large-scale criminal operations (because apparently there are goods even more profitable to smuggle and sell on the black market than the drug Ice!)

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Articles Rohan covered:

2014 – ‘Melbourne police raids target Middle Eastern organised crime gangs’

http://ab.co/3l8BA6z​

2015 – ‘Middle Eastern crime gangs main players in Australia’s illegal tobacco boom’

http://bit.ly/3rw825j​

2016 – ‘A national security risk’: Australian Border Force warns illegal tobacco trade may be fuelling terrorism’

http://ab.co/2OHP0ul​

2017 – ‘Sydney crime arrests: the inside story of corruption in Australian Border Force’

http://bit.ly/3coOCJ8​

2017 – ‘Inside Melbourne’s flourishing illegal tobacco trade’

http://bit.ly/3rAkFwk​

2019 – ‘Retailers tell government to stop rampant illicit tobacco sales’

http://bit.ly/3vbJNeU​

2020 – ‘ABF aims sights at illegal tobacco trade, as smuggled cigarettes sold in Adelaide’

http://bit.ly/3l3mPBY​

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BUSTED cuts through the fluff of the mainstream news by bringing you everything you need to know about crime in your community. BUSTED’s weekly commentary gives you the best access to experts, Rohan Pike and Heath Michael, as they explain to you the tricks of the criminal trade and the latest methods police are using to bust these bad guys!

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We’ve been seeing some pretty bad behaviour from so-called celebrities for some time now. But what drives reality television, sporting or other ‘stars’ to the kind of criminal activity that’s so often reported on?

It’s clear some of these ‘stars’ struggle to adapt to life when the cameras are off and their ‘celebrity’ starts to fade. So many of them go off the rails. But it’s deeply concerning since many modern stars find their fame and following on social media. Especially when we see young people taking to social media to share their own criminal activity – as we will in today’s fist story.

Stay tuned and find out what Heath and Rohan had to say about this, and their opinion on reality TV in general.

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On this week’s show:

Intro: 00:01​

An elderly man in Sydney has been violently assaulted by a teenager for his cigarettes, while the teenager’s accomplices recorded and uploaded the entire incident: 01:23​

Read the news report – http://bit.ly/3dSzgz3​

A Perth man has been arrested for attempting to smuggle in 100,000 cigarettes, stuffed into a couch, from China: 04:46​

Read the news report – https://bit.ly/3q1do6Y​

Former rugby league star, Sam Burgess, has been charged with traffic offences and failing a random roadside drug text, in the Southern Highlands. The kicker – he was on his way to pick up his children: 09:08​

Read the news report – https://bit.ly/3uBaKZc​

Suzi Taylor, of ‘The Block’ fame, has had a warrant issued for her arrest – she is before the courts for 107 offences, including 80 breaches of her bail conditions: 11:29​

Read the news report – http://bit.ly/3ksTrVF​

MAFS Australia’s Daniel Webb charged with fraud over a multi-million dollar telemarketing scam, alongside 10 other offenders: 15:04​

Read the news report – http://bit.ly/2Pe5NFn​

Conclusion: 18:10​

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BUSTED cuts through the fluff of the mainstream news by bringing you everything you need to know about crime in your community. BUSTED’s weekly commentary gives you the best access to experts, Rohan Pike and Heath Michael, as they explain to you the tricks of the criminal trade and the latest methods police are using to bust these bad guys!

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Youth crime is a huge issue here in Australia. Especially because it isn’t just a law enforcement issue. And while that’s true for many other instances of criminal activity, helping young people steer clear of a life of crime is complicated. It can’t be tackled without cooperation between several groups of people – from those involved in the justice system, to youth support services and charities, parents, governments and schools. 

In today’s episode, we’re covering a number of incidents around the country that have been recently reported, involving so-called ‘kid criminals.’ Heath and Rohan take a look at some of the phenomena that have affected why these kids act the way they do – from addictions, the impact of being ‘cool crims’ on social media, socio-economic factors, even touching on how the recent lockdowns and enforced time away from school may be affecting children, particularly disadvantaged children.

It’s important we help young people get the help they need before it’s too late. So if you do see any instance of crime, do report it to your local police station or Crime Stoppers. But for instances involving younger people and first-time offenders, the BUSTED experts suggest finding ways to help them get on the right path rather than just locking them up. 

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today’s BUSTED episode has a little something for absolutely everybody:

1. Instagram influencer, Mikayla Noakes, has pleaded guilty to participating in a criminal narcotics group – this after she was arrested last November.
2. Brianna Costigan, daughter of former Queensland MP Jason Costigan, who’s had one wild year, has been allegedly involved in a break and enter of her neighbour’s property over Christmas – in which she made off with a Yoyo pram and water BBQ – this after being cleared of drugs charges, converting to Islam and starting up a legal luxury handbag selling business on Instagram.
3. A bikie who got caught because he forgot Crown Casino would be covered in CCTV.
4. More seriously, a phenomenal investigation and effort from a joint police task force. 81 kilos of methamphetamines, and a South African syndicate’s plot was foiled in Melbourne – and Rohan’s even given them an 8.5 BUSTED rating!

Watch the episode above for Heath and Rohan’s take, and catch any other tidbits you’re after through the articles below:

Mikayla Noakes: http://bit.ly/3rBGwmE

Brianna Costigan: http://bit.ly/36Vfn6m

Crown Casino Bikie: http://dailym.ai/3aSY334

Syndicate foiled by police in Melb: http://bit.ly/39ZQ7xC

BUSTED cuts through the fluff of the mainstream news by bringing you everything you need to know about crime in your community. BUSTED’s weekly commentary gives you the best access to experts, Rohan Pike and Heath Michael, as they explain to you the tricks of the criminal trade and the latest methods police are using to bust these bad guys!

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode of BUSTED, Heath and Rohan take a look at some of the consequences a number of recently apprehended criminals are facing. Fair warning, the first may make your stomach turn.

A body was found stuffed into a wheelie bin floating in a dam has been identified as a 'high level' convicted drug dealer and father-of-three, Dinh Lam Nguyen. He was reported missing two days after last being seen, and his remains were discovered dumped in a local Dam.

Check out the full coverage: http://dailym.ai/3czviLf​

A recent arrest in the Netherlands, follows the issuing of an Australian warrant, for Tse Chi Lop, the leader of ‘The Company’– one of the largest drug cartels in Asia, worth around $70bn. Tse Chi Lop - a Chinese-born Canadian national - is said to be the head of ‘The Company’, which dominates a $70bn drug empire across Asia. This is a huge win and effort to get him off the streets.

Check out the full coverage: http://bbc.in/3oC4ZpK​

Next, we’re covering an online date gone very wrong. A man who stole a knife from the Grindr hook up he has been staying with, then robbed a service station in Killarney Vale, looking for cash and cigarettes.

Check out the full coverage: http://bit.ly/3j33HTR​

Next, we cover Omar and Khaled Hussein, two cousins who were jailed for four years and 10 months each, by a Perth District Court after trying to smuggle $8.5mn worth of illegal cigarettes into Fremantle Port three years ago. With 1 in 5 of all cigarettes smoked here being illegal, crack downs like this are essential.

Check out the full coverage: http://bit.ly/3pBqMPV​

We’re also putting an end to the whole ‘a little party never killed nobody’ line. A 29 year old French male tourist, in Australia on a working holiday visa, was deported for his role in an illegal party, which attracted over 1,000 partygoers in Noosa just after NYE.

Check out the full coverage: https://ab.co/3ouRBny​

And finally, one of the world’s most wanted drug barons, Asia’s ‘El Chapo’ will face authorities in Australia after one hell of a bust carried out by the AFP. It’s a huge arrest for Australian Police, and the scale is not to be understated.

Check out the full coverage: http://bit.ly/3cG7CVB​

BUSTED cuts through the fluff of the mainstream news by bringing you everything you need to know about crime in your community. BUSTED’s weekly commentary gives you the best access to experts, Rohan Pike and Heath Michael, as they explain to you the tricks of the criminal trade and the latest methods police are using to bust these bad guys!

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What an absolute bummer!

This episode we discuss a man caught with drugs up his bum, a drug smuggler using wine bottles to smuggle MDMA, a big barbershop brawl and more illegal tobacco raids.

But to begin with, a man who has been around the criminal scene for a while was caught selling drugs out of an East Dubbo home. He was sentenced after a bag and balloon full of drugs fell out from between his rectum (ouch!)

Police say a blue metal tube was found up the bloke’s rectum, and inside was 3.8 grams of methamphetamine as well as a pink balloon which had 52 buprenorphine strips inside it. We hope he learns his lesson this time.

Next, we are onto the smuggler who used wine bottles to conceal liquid MDMA. NSW Police charged the bloke as part of ongoing investigations into the alleged import of $675,000-worth of MDMA concealed in wine bottles.

Normally the wine bottles are moving in the other direction, out of Australia, so that may have tipped the police off to this unusual consignment. But sadly, it is another sign that despite the pandemic, drug smuggling crooks and dangerous criminal syndicates have continued to smuggle drugs, illicit tobacco, and other illegal materials into Australia.

In our third story, we discuss a man who has been charged over a brawl that allegedly erupted because someone ‘cut’ in line to get their hair trimmed at a barbershop in Perth's north.

The footage is pretty confronting, and a lot of people seem to have ringside seat here, but it’s a serious problem for the younger bloke – he could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Lastly, we analyse the latest illegal tobacco bust, where illegal tobacco with the street value of $70,000 has been seized during police raids in three district towns, including the problem area of Shepparton.

Police allegedly seized 3500 packets of cigarettes - the majority with 20 cigarettes to a packet - and 28 kg of loose tobacco from a number of locations.

Whilst this isn’t the most sizeable quantity from Shepparton, it’s another sign the problem isn’t going away.

Thanks for taking a look at this episode.

BUSTED cuts through the fluff of the mainstream news by bringing you everything you need to know about crime in your community, whether it’s criminal thugs being caught smuggling in cheap, fake products or dodgy dealers getting stung selling drugs to fund their lavish lifestyles. BUSTED’s weekly commentary gives you the best access to experts, Rohan Pike and Heath Michael, as they explain to you the tricks of the criminal trade and the latest methods police are using to get these bad guys BUSTED!

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.