Police stop alleged south coast, outer Sydney fish trafficking operation of Blacklip Abalone

Eight men accused of taking part in a statewide criminal fish trafficking operation have appeared before court over allegations of trafficking 28,000 Blacklip Abalone. Here’s the latest.

NSW Police allege eight men were involved in the major fish trafficking operation.

Eight men accused of taking part in a fish trafficking operation have appeared in court, with police alleging the group trafficked more than 28,000 Blacklip Abalone from outer Sydney to the Victorian border.

The alleged operation occurred over a six-month period, between September 2023 and February 2024, with the shellfish species allegedly being trafficked in Penshurst, Batemans Bay, Mogo, Green Cape, Tura Beach, Merimbula and Eden.

Eight men – Brent Wellington, 24, Richard Schofield, 56, Keith Nye, 67, Nathan Carriage, 23, Henry Carriage, 45, Denzel Carriage, 21, Kane Bollard, 23 and Li Bi, 62 – allegedly trafficked a total of 28,701 Blacklip Abalone.

The individuals – who reside across the NSW south coast, Illawarra and outer Sydney – pleaded not guilty to participating in a criminal group as well as multiple counts of traffic indictable species of fish in the Batemans Bay Local Court on Monday.

Documents tendered to the court allege the numbers of Blacklip Abalone trafficked by each individual ranged from the mid hundreds to thousands.

The fish trafficking case was mentioned in the Batemans Bay Local Court on Monday.

Bi is accused of focusing on the outer Sydney region of Penshurst, while the remaining seven accused allegedly focused on the Eurobodalla and Bega Valley regions.

The court has not heard how the eight individuals were allegedly acquiring the thousands of Blacklip Abalone.

Henry Carriage (left) and Keith Nye (right) outside Batemans Bay Local Court. Picture: Tom McGann

Court documents alleged more than 14,000 Blacklip Abalone were trafficked along the NSW south coast, while more than 11,000 were trafficked across the far south coast and more than 2000 in outer Sydney.

NSW Police commenced an investigation into the alleged fish traffic operation, with each accused being arrested between late 2023 and early 2024.

Wellington, Schofield, Nyw, the three Carriages, Bollard and Bi were all granted bail shortly after their arrests.

In Batemans Bay Local Court on Monday, each of the mens’ lawyers entered the pleas on their clients’ behalf, before the prosecutor said some time would be needed before the case could progress, given its “large” size.

The eight men allegedly trafficked 28,000 Blacklip Abalone. Picture: Generic, file

Magistrate Doug Dick did not oppose the adjournment, agreeing it was an enormous case.

Bail was continued for all alleged fish traffickers, who will return to court on December 16.

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