Sydney family charged over international baby formula syndicate
A family which runs a humble suburban newsagency in Sydney’s northwest is allegedly behind an international syndicate accused of orchestrating the theft and export of more than $1 million worth of stolen baby formula, Manuka honey and vitamins overseas.
NSW
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- Police seize 4000 tins of baby milk, manuka honey and cash
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A family that runs a humble suburban newsagency is allegedly behind a baby formula syndicate orchestrating the theft and export of more than $1 million worth of stolen baby formula, Manuka honey and vitamins overseas.
Four members of the Ke family, who run a Carlingford newsagency, have been charged over their roles in the alleged operation which police say employed thieves to steal the formula from supermarkets across NSW.
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Lie Ke, 48, her husband Wueqi, 53, and their two children Xiaoyu, 29, and Jian Feng Ke, 31, have all been charged by a Robbery and Serious Crime Squad strike force set-up in February to investigate the “co-ordinated theft” of baby formula, vitamins and Manuka honey.
Police will allege in court the syndicate was behind the theft of the items much sought-after in China.
“The organised syndicate received more than $1 million worth of stolen products, including baby formula and health supplements, which were then on-sold overseas,” police said in a statement.
On Saturday Jian Feng Ke was arrested at Sydney International Airport after arriving on a flight from China.
He was charged with recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime and participating in a criminal group.
Jian Feng Ke was granted bail by Parramatta Bail Court on Sunday where he unsuccessfully requested to have a 9pm to 6am curfew extended to 10pm so he could continue working at the newsagency in Carlingford Court shopping centre.
In August two Carlingford properties were raided and 4000 tins of baby formula and large quantities of stolen vitamin and Manuka honey was seized. More than $215,000, which police say was the proceeds of crime, was also taken. A Bankstown business “Onestop Nature” was also raided.
The tins seized sell for $30 in Australia but in China they sell for more than $80.
Manuka honey is sold for 30 per cent more in China than the $120-$150 a kilogram price tag in Australia.
Lie Ke and a 35-year-old man — accused of stealing for the syndicate — were charged.
She pleaded not guilty in court in September charged with directing the criminal group’s activities among a raft of charges relating to the theft.
Police say she ran a dozen mules that targeted stores from Sydney to Newcastle and was arrested allegedly trying to sell 20 tins to a buyer.
Wueqi Ke was charged in December and his daughter Xiaoyu Ke was charged earlier this month with participating in a criminal group for their roles in the ring. They will appear in court next month.
The Australian Taxation Office and other law enforcement agencies have already frozen assets of one family member and have begun court proceedings to freeze the funds of others.
The theft and mass buying of Australian baby formula to sell overseas has enraged many in the community and led to supermarkets chains rationing customers to just two tins each.
“Police will continue to pursue those who seek to make a quick buck at the disadvantage of others and will always strive to stamp out unscrupulous activity”, the Robbery and Serious Crime Squad Detective Superintendent Daniel Doherty said.
Baby formula shortage driving Aussie mums to despair
China’s insatiable appetite for Australian baby formula is creating illegal syndicates, runaway criminals and parents desperate to feed their babies.
The demand spiked after Chinese formula was contaminated in 2008. Six babies died and 54,000 were hospitalised.
On Christmas Eve last year, a scrum of people clambered for tins of baby formula at the Wentworth Point Coles just after it opened at 7am.
Penrith mother of three Belle Goldie said she would call supermarkets in tears searching for baby formula.
“I was driving around to shops, calling around, I almost felt like a drug addict who just had to find it,” she said.
The demand for the tins had a man allegedly lead police on a high-speed chase in a stolen truck in Condell Park in October before it was later found in a nearby industrial complex full of baby formula.
Another man was charged with stealing 33 tins from a Woolworths in July.
Coles and Woolworths have a two-tin limit however customers get around that by making multiple trips in and out of the supermarkets until the shelves are bare.
AuMake buys baby formula by the pallet to sell in its chains of retail and online stores.
“There is a lot of mistrust in the local product in China where the Australian product has a reputation for high quality,” AuMake chairman Keong Chan said.
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