Box Hill man Tao Wu faces court accused of money laundering for China-bound reptile-exporting syndicate
A Box Hill man has faced court accused of being a money mule for a criminal network allegedly sending native reptiles from eastern Australian states to China.
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A Melbourne man has been accused of laundering cash for a criminal network involved in the large-scale trafficking of Australian reptiles to China.
Box Hill man Tao Wu, 41, faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday charged with money laundering.
He is accused of handling money or property worth $100,000 or more between January 2022 and July 2023.
The maximum penalty for the offence is 20 years’ jail.
Mr Wu was arrested on July 15 on a Commonwealth warrant issued on behalf of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
The arrest formed part of Operation Ramsey, a broad criminal investigation concerning a syndicate allegedly engaged in the organised export of native reptiles from Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria to China.
Images captured during the operation show reptiles wrapped and hidden in a box of toys, a printer, and a vacuum cleaner.
Mr Wu will next face court on September 19.
As a result of the Operation Ramsey so far, an Australian citizen and two Malaysian nationals have been convicted, a third Malaysian remains before the courts, and Mr Wu has been charged.
In October 2023, Australian Dejian Chen was arrested in NSW and charged with money laundering for receiving $5000 from an alleged facilitator, Poh Teik Ang, to export animals.
Chen pleaded guilty and was sentenced at Burwood Court in NSW in April 2024, where he was convicted and sentenced to a two-year good behaviour order and required to pay a $500 surety.
In December 2023, three Malaysian nationals, Poh Teik Ang, Siew Chan, and Chai Loo were arrested in Victoria and charged in NSW with multiple counts each of attempting to export native animals.
Ang faced an additional dozen charges of aiding native exportation.
Chan and Loo pleaded guilty at Paramatta Magistrates’ Court in February this year.
Both were convicted and put on 18-month community corrections orders, with Chan fined $600 and Loo $1800.
Ang will next appear at Parramatta District Court in November.
A DCCEEW spokeswoman said the federal government was taking “strong enforcement action to disrupt and expose the individuals and criminal syndicates who are profiting from the illegal export of Australian animals”.
“Individuals will be identified and held accountable for their role in the illegal wildlife trade, whether it be funding, buying or smuggling native animals,” she said.
In April this year, a crackdown on the wildlife black market led to two of the largest fines ever issued under Victoria’s invasive species laws.
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