Chinese baby formula export ring mastermind Lie Ke jailed
Sydney mother of two Lie Ke wailed in court as she was jailed for her role in a statewide baby formula thieving ring, which sold tins of stolen formula to Chinese buyers.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Men on the run after armed Sydney baby formula theft
- Alleged baby formula thief was serving prison sentence
A Sydney mother who made hundreds of thousands of dollars funnelling stolen baby formula tins to China during a shoplifting operation across the state has been jailed.
Lie Ke, 50, broke down and wailed when she was sentenced to two years and three months behind bars in Parramatta District Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime.
Police had covertly watched Ke, of Carlingford, buying stolen infant milk formula at cheap prices from thieves who targeted supermarkets in Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle before her arrest in 2018.
In court, defence lawyers for Ke – who claimed she never knew the formula was stolen – asked for a punishment of home detention to be considered because of her age and lack of criminal history.
But Judge Siobhan Herbert found the mother of two was motivated by money and that her offending lasted for an extended period of about nine months while she ran a gift shop in Bankstown.
“ (Ke) said there was a milk shortage in China and that customers would attend her store looking for baby formula to send to China and she saw a business opportunity,” the judge said.
“She said she never asked where the product came from and was just grateful she did not have to go buy it in the morning or late at night herself.”
Agreed facts state Ke bought the tins cheaply for $16 to $25 from at least six thieves sometimes in car parks or shopping centres in western Sydney before onselling them to customers in China at inflated prices.
After her arrest, police seized her phone and uncovered “thousands of transactions of baby formula between customers in China and Lie Ke between November 2017 and August 2018 – these customers were Chinese individuals”.
Ke transferred $394,000 into accounts controlled by her partner which was “partly proceeds of the sale of stolen baby formula” and police also seized 4000 tins, the documents state.
Investigators found business records relating to the purchase of baby formula from legitimate wholesalers, but checks revealed none of the purchases were made during the period in which the baby formula was stolen.
In sentencing, Judge Herbert said Ke had a “much more significant role” in the operation than her partner and co-offender, Yueqi Ke, 53, who the court was told helped her with transport and collecting the goods.
“She was responsible for meeting people who had stolen the tins, made payments and was responsible for the onselling,” the judge said.
“Lie Ke selected a meeting place which was clearly designed to reduce the likelihood of it being not seen by others.”
Ke was given a non-parole period of one year and six months and will be first eligible for parole in December next year.
Her partner Yueqi also pleaded guilty to recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime and was given an intensive corrections order of one year and four months.
Demand for infant milk formula surged in China after local supplies were contaminated in 2008. Six babies died and 54,000 were hospitalised.
The hoarding of Australian baby formula to onsell overseas has forced supermarkets rationing customers to only two tins each.