Mostafa Baluch: Parents’ $4m Bayview home to be seized

The Northern Beaches mansion will be the first property forfeited after an offender skipped bail amid calls for an overhaul of the sureties system.

Thousands of offenders skipped bail last year but only eight per cent of them had been made to lodge a financial ­surety with the court to ensure they turned up.

As well, last year, just 57 bail forfeiture notices were issued to offenders who jumped bail, sparking calls for a total overhaul of the system.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal authorities are preparing to seize the $4 million home of alleged drug kingpin Mostafa Baluch’s parents, which he put up as surety for bail before fleeing.

He had claimed to need bail as he was their “carer”.

The northern beaches mansion will be the first property forfeited after an offender skipped bail, as Revenue NSW said on Wednesday there was “no other record” of any property, including houses, being seized by them.

“Cashed-up criminals are laughing at the NSW bail system,” opposition police spokesman.

Alleged drug kingpin Mostafa Baluch, 33, is now also wanted in relation to breach of bail after taking his ankle bracelet off and disappearing. Picture: Facebook

Authorities are preparing to seize the $4 million home of Baluch’s parents, which he put up as surety for his bail. Picture: Facebook

Walt Secord said on Tuesday. “They know that they can buy their freedom and run away with impunity when the cheque bounces. They are not held to account.”

Figures from the NSW ­Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research show that almost one in 10 offenders who are granted bail by a court after being refused it by police don’t turn up to face the music and are charged with failure to appear.

In 2020, despite 5492 charges of failure to appear being finalised, Revenue NSW went after only 57 offenders with Bail Forfeiture Notices, recouping just $52,800, less than $1000 each.

This number does not include those who skipped bail and were never caught. In other cases, the courts kept sureties which had already been lodged with them.

The 92 per cent of defendants granted court bail without having to put up a financial surety are either deemed to not be able to afford it or have persuaded the court they will turn up without a financial stick, legal sources said.

Mr Secord said the bail figures were “damning and showed a broken system needing a complete overhaul”.

Granted bail by Central Local Court, Baluch allegedly cut off his tracking ankle bracelet and fled three days later.

He is accused of being a major financier of a 900kg ­cocaine importation.

The decision to grant him bail has been criticised by Attorney-General Mark Speakman.

Victim’s advocate Howard Brown said it can cost $7000 to pursue a breach of bail surety and with most sureties around $1000 to $5000, it was not worth it.
“It costs more to pursue them than will be recovered,” he said.