Umina: UK brickie Bradley Michael Nash pleads guilty to ill-gotten cash, Rolex watches

A UK bag man was minding more than half a million dollars cash and two luxury Rolex watches when heavily armed police stormed his Umina Beach home and several storage units, a court heard.

The more than $500,000 cash found in the safe of a storage unit leased to Nash in Woy Woy. Picture: NSW Police

A brickie who was nabbed “running from the police” when heavily armed tactical officers stormed his Umina Beach home has pleaded guilty to dealing with the proceeds of crime.

Appearing via video link from custody Bradley Michael Nash, 39, faced Gosford Local Court on Friday where he pleaded guilty to two counts of dealing with the proceeds of crime in the form of $526,850 cash and two luxury Rolex watches valued about $85,000-$95,000 each.

Nash was arrested looking “tired and sweaty” by officers attached to Taskforce Erebus when they conducted a series of five simultaneous raids across the Central Coast including Woy Woy and Umina Beach. on May 18 last year.

An agreed set of facts states no one was home when police arrived at Nash’s address on Casuarina Close about 10.30am and found the front door open and a grey Ford Territory parked in the driveway.

Nash’s partner arrived home a short time later and told police it was not unusual for them to leave their door unlocked.

Taskforce Erebus officers conducted a series of raids across the Central Coast and Sydney on May 18 last year. Picture: NSW Police

As police were searching another address at Carpenter St they noticed Nash who was “observed to be tired and sweating” as he was coming out of a gate of a nearby house in Glenn St.

A resident later told police they saw him through their kitchen window and asked what he was doing to which Nash, a UK national, replied “I’m running from the police”, the facts state.

Nash told another resident “I'm running from the police” before he was arrested looking tired and sweaty. Source: NSW Police

Police searched a storage shed leased in his name on Woy Woy Rd, Woy Woy, and found among surfboards, camping equipment and other personal items a safe bolted to the floor.

Nash confirmed the safe contained a bag of money he was storing for someone else.

“He indicated the bag contained `thousands of dollars’ although was unsure how much,” the facts state.

“He also indicated to the officers that he knew that he shouldn’t be looking after other people’s things or money `because I don’t know where it came from’.”

Nash gave police the access code to the safe and police seized $526,850 cash in various bundles with the amounts written on the top note of each bundle in black marker.

Nash’s DNA was found on the outside of the bag, the zipper, an inner pocket and a black marker pen found at the bottom of the bag.

During a search of his home they found a further $336,500 in cash in the kitchen, of which $300,500 was found in a Woolworths shopping bag.

Nash’s partner, who was not charged with any offence and there is no suggestion she had any knowledge of the money, told police it was not hers.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before, no idea, f..king what the f..k, that’s what I think,” she told police.

Nsh presumably had some explaining to do when his partner was confronted by police but had no idea he was sitting on so much cash. Picture: NSW Police

Nash was captured on CCTV at another storage facility driving the same Ford Territory ute as the one parked in his driveway.

On June 1 2022 police searched yet another storage unit on Ocean Beach Rd, at Woy Woy, leased in his name.

“Concealed inside a pink suitcase inside the unit police located $179,820 cash in Australian currency,” the facts state.

“The storage unit also contained various personal belongings such as a bicycle and outdoor furniture.

“Also found inside the storage unit was some handwritten notes. One of the notes referred to `money dops’ and identified different days of the week, apparently over a three-week period with different numerical figures next to them. Some of the figures had `K’ after them (eg. 16K). At the bottom right hand side of the note is written $360920 owed”.

The total amount of cash found at Nash’s storage units was $1,043,200 while officers also found a Rolex Submariner gentlemen’s watch and a Rolex GMT-Masters II watch valued between $85,000 and $95,000 each.

Nash was arrested but declined to participate in an interview.

Taskforce Erebus was established by NSW Police Force, in partnership with the NSW Crime Commission, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) and Australian Federal Police (AFP) in April 2022 in response to alleged organised crime and three fatal shootings.

Police allege Nash came under notice of Taskforce Erebus officers investigating alleged criminal activity but he was not linked to any shootings.

He will face Gosford District Court on March 23 to fix a sentence date.