Weapons, Rolexes, drugs: How Aaron Waters luxe life came undone
Before his arrest over a large-scale MDMA and cocaine supply can, Aaron Waters flaunted his luxury lifestyle to his 22,000 of his Instagram followers before it all came undone.
NSW
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A ripped swimming pool business owner who loved flaunting his wealth on Instagram was secretly running a drug operation worth hundreds of thousands of dollars out of a garage only a stone’s throw from Manly’s famous wharf.
The inside story of how Superior Pool Care’s Aaron Waters was brought undone and charged by police over large-scale MDMA and cocaine supply can now be revealed after he was committed for sentence in the Downing Centre District Court.
The 27-year-old, who once posed for a photo on a horse wading through the ocean, is facing the possibility of a lengthy jail term when he is sentenced next month over a string of serious offences including supplying prohibited drugs and recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime.
Before his arrest Waters was not averse to showing off his money, sharing dozens of photos of his luxury lifestyle including overseas travel to more than 22,000 of his Instagram followers.
He also had a soft spot for his black French bulldog Louie and captioned a photo saying “this little man puts a smile on my face everyday”.
However, away from the camera Waters also heavily invested his time in Sydney’s underground drug trade.
Agreed facts state detectives began covertly watching Waters, of Collaroy Plateau, in early 2019 and discovered he regularly attended a lock-up garage on Manly’s East Esplanade, which is located about 200m away from the affluent beachside suburb’s popular wharf.
Waters began renting the garage in June 2018, introducing himself to its owner as “Alex” and telling her he planned to store his car and belongings in it.
Police officers snuck into the garage just after midnight one night and found a big bundle of cash, one kilogram of a brown “rock-like” substance in a Ford Mondeo and scales before they planted recording devices throughout the premises in May 2019.
Later that morning just before 10am, the bugs captured Waters in the garage donning a pair of latex gloves before weighing and packaging a “white powdery” substance.
With enough evidence gathered, police arrested Waters as he was leaving the garage about 20 minutes later and cautioned him in relation to the supply of illegal drugs.
The documents state after his arrest police seized a massive 1381 grams of powerful party drug MDMA in the garage, which is worth more than $275,000 in Sydney’s festival and nightclub scene.
In court, prosecutors accepted they could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Waters knew the amount of MDMA was not less than a large commercial quantity.
Officers also found at least 145 grams of cocaine – worth $43,000 — in the garage and more than $100,000 in cash, which police say was earned through the supply of drugs.
Police searched Waters’ house on Veterans Parade in Collaroy Plateau and found black knuckle dusters and four designer watches including a Rolex, which police suspected were the proceeds of crime.
Manly Local Court Magistrate Miranda Moody agreed to release Waters on bail only if his then-girlfriend Chay Wallace deposited $50,000 and if his grandparents travelled from the Sunshine Coast to Tweed Local Court to hand over the title deeds to their home.
“I think having your grandparents’ title deeds as a surety … would be a significant deterrent (to breaching bail conditions),” she said.
He walked free from custody more than 20 days after he was initially granted bail and was photographed enjoying his new-found freedom with Ms Wallace.
However, it appears despite Ms Wallace’s generosity and support their romance has not lasted amid the pressure of his impending sentence.
Waters’ social media accounts now say he has been in a relationship with a young woman called Danielle Hogan since March and he and Ms Wallace do not follow each other on Instagram.
In an affidavit tendered to the court, Ms Wallace had previously said she was “dumbfounded by the allegations of supplying prohibited drugs that the police have made against Aaron”.
“While he did have a bump in the road last year when he possessed a very small amount of cocaine (0.269 grams which was weighed with the packaging), this was the only time Aaron has ever fallen foul of the criminal law,” she said.
But Waters’ arrest in May 2019 was bigger than a mere “bump in the road” and he is now facing a severe punishment.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Adrian Walsh previously told a court a full-time custodial sentence behind bars was likely.
“(It) involves significant quantities of prohibited drugs, if convicted it’s almost certain the accused would serve a full-time (term) of imprisonment,” he said.