Organised crime gangs install fake renters to enable meth cooks, drug stash

Violent Melbourne crime gangs are installing dummy renters into properties across the city to mask drug trafficking and other criminality.

organised crime gangs are using dummy renters in Melbourne’s real estate industry to mask illegal activities including drug trafficking

Organised crime gangs are running drug houses across Melbourne’s suburbs, installing fake renters who then sublet the homes to dealers, police believe.

Neighbours of drug labs and dealing dens say they have been turned into “putrid” hellholes littered with used syringes, sex toys and even human faeces, with some residents so fearful that they have moved away.

One allegedly fake tenant, who investigators believe has taken out bogus leases on dozens of homes, is currently on the run.

In one case linked to the fugitive, a young female landlord had to call in police to help serve an eviction notice to known drug traffickers staying at her apartment about a month after the lease was signed.

Neighbours of the Prahran East townhouse had reported suspected drug dealing to authorities several times, claiming they found used needles dumped outside the property.

A nearby family told the Herald Sun police had advised them to “relocate for their own safety”.

“It was the most stressful time of my life,” they said.

“It was a case of head down and don’t make eye contact with those crims.”

Another neighbour was forced to temporarily move as the “situation for those in the surrounding area became untenable”.

“There were some seriously scary people coming and going from the house at all hours of the day and night and we experienced threatening behaviour,” another local said.

Ella Noorian

The property was leased to accused grifter Ella Noorian – now on the run – but the landlord and neighbours said they had never seen her at the home.

Instead, the landlord and Jellis Craig – which facilitated the rental – confirmed the townhouse was illegally sublet to drug dealer David Jurd and stripper Emily Arena.

Several heavy-hitting crime figures who investigators say are linked to Middle Eastern gangs were witnessed coming and going.

Jurd and Arena were convicted for drug offences after being arrested at a Flinders Lane Airbnb in September 2021, where police seized meth, cocaine, MDMA and more than $33,000 in cash.

Jurd also had multiple priors for drug trafficking and was placed on a community corrections order in 2021 after being found with drugs and a dead body at a motel two years earlier.

The eviction notice was issued by a document server escorted by two armed Victoria Police members, while the pair had been monitored by the Organised Crime Squad.

The landlord and neighbours claim the property was left a “putrid, stinking mess”.

Emily Arena

“There were faeces, utter filth and even sex toys, including a slimy dildo, strewn among spoiled food and discarded needles,” a neighbour said.

Police sources suspect Middle Eastern crime gangs used Ms Noorian as a front to install Jurd at the address.

Further, a private investigator claims Ms Noorian threatened the landlord when he spoke to her over the phone.

“My guys will shoot the people who informed on David and Emily,” Ms Noorian allegedly said. “We shoot police too, this is easy for us.”

The PI claims Ms Noorian admitted to “taking a fee” to place Jurd and Arena in the property despite knowing they were “convicted drug traffickers”.

The Herald Sun has since learned she is on the run after being charged with almost 200 fraud offences allegedly linked to dozens of bogus leases.

It’s understood police believe Ms Noorian fled overseas after she was charged in January 2022 with stealing $80,000 from the Covid-19 Rent Relief Grant.

Ms Noorian also allegedly produced false documents and attempted more Rent Relief Grant frauds while at Southbank between July 2020 and February 2021.

Ms Noorian is wanted by police. Picture: Facebook.

The landlord said she aired “repeated concerns” regarding Ms Noorian’s online presence when her Jellis Craig property manager suggested she rent her investment property to the woman in 2023.

Despite what she believed were dubious references, she ultimately accepted the application.

Text messages between a former Jellis Craig Brighton property manager and a landlord regarding a lease for Ella Noorian.

In one text exchange seen by the Herald Sun, the landlord wrote: “I do not want things to progress until it’s all checked out … it’s all pretty shady … nothing adds up.”

“She (Ms Noorian) is 100 per cent legit from our detailed screening … I need the lease signed,” the agent responded.

In another exchange, the agent described Ms Noorian as a “wealthy lady”, adding “privacy laws prevent me from revealing the details of course”.

The landlord enlisted the help of neighbours after claiming she was “abandoned” by Jellis Craig.

Jellis Craig chief executive Andrew McCann said he had investigated Ms Noorian’s application, found the company did “all thorough checks” and “there were no red flags”.

“We reviewed the matter post and Jellis Craig has rigorous checks and balances across our whole network when it comes to the process of approving any tenancy application,” he said.

“We’re disappointed in the events that transpired following the tenancy application and the illegal subletting of the property.”

The landlord raised concerns with Ms Noorian’s application.

Speaking broadly, a Victoria Police spokeswoman confirmed organised crime gangs and other criminals had been using fake renters to conceal criminality.

“We find that drug manufacturers will go to varying lengths to conceal their operations including utilising rental properties, often using false identification in an attempt to lease the property,” the spokeswoman said.

“Police also see other properties such as serviced apartments and or hotel rooms being frequently utilised in this same way.

“In relation to rental properties, real estate agents need to ensure they do thorough background checks and enforce a strict inspection schedule.

“Landlords should also be active with the real estate agent and ensure good inspections are occurring.”