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Melbourne Gold Company manager Daniel Ede jailed for $3.9 million gold heist

A Donvale dad has swapped gold bars for prison bars after his insider role in the Melbourne Gold Company heist was exposed.

Karl Kachami (right) pretends to hold up Daniel Ede during the Melbourne Gold Company Heist. Supplied OPP/County Court.
Karl Kachami (right) pretends to hold up Daniel Ede during the Melbourne Gold Company Heist. Supplied OPP/County Court.

A Donvale dad who posed as the hapless victim during a brazen $3.9 million gold, cash and jewellery heist has been jailed.

Daniel Ede, 38, was sentenced in the County Court on Friday to a minimum three years’ and nine months’ jail after pleading guilty to aggravated burglary and theft.

Ede and his longtime mate Karl Kachami planned the daylight heist which went down at Melbourne Gold Company’s secure Collins St office on April 27 last year.

Ede, who was the company manager at the time, played the inside man while Kachami did the heavy lifting as the bogus bandit.

Ede buzzed Kachami into the fortified office just after 9.30am and the bumbling pair got to work staging the sham holdup.

Kachami, disguised in a large hat, surgical mask and hi-vis, creeped up behind Ede and pulled out a black Glock, allegedly saying “this is a robbery”.

Ede led his crony through the office and into a room which contained a safe and the modem and hard drives for the CCTV cameras.

The court heard almost $2.4 million worth of gold bullion had been delivered just days before the heist.

Ede disconnected the CCTV but the foolish crook didn’t realise it ran on back-up so cameras continued recording his incompetence.

Karl Kachami.
Karl Kachami.

Ede then signalled to Kachami to take the gun out of his jacket, the court was told.

CCTV footage showed the unloaded gun was missing the magazine.

Kachami filled his loot bag and toolbox with a stack of cash, gold and jewellery Ede had conveniently removed from various safes.

Ede attempted to divert Kachami’s attention to another safe which contained gold bullion worth more than $4 million and $600,000 cash.

However, Kachami didn’t “take the hint” despite Ede waving his arm and kicking a case near the safe, the court was told.

The clutz crew’s acting performance was signed-off after Kachami forced Ede to lie face down on the floor.

Kachami cable-tied Ede’s wrists then fled but not before he allowed two customers to enter the level 7 office.

Kachami points his unloaded gun at Ede.
Kachami points his unloaded gun at Ede.

Police searched Kachami’s house and another property and seized gold bars, jewellery the handgun and almost $350,000 cash after the bandit was nabbed in Camberwell on April 29.

Kachami, who later copped to the heist, led investigators to a location next to his family’s property at Dollar in South Gippsland where most of the gold had been buried.

The court heard the bulk of the gold, jewellery and cash was returned but $333,420 has yet to be recovered.

Ede, who was arrested on May 12, admitted his involvement after initially giving detectives the run-around.

The father of three also claimed the Heist was Kachami’s idea.

The court was told Ede, who appeared via videolink from the Metropolitan Remand Centre, knew his Melbourne Gold Company boss for many years.

Some of the recovered loot.
Some of the recovered loot.

The court was told Ede worked in construction until 2018 but copped a financial hit with a failed property deal.

Ede met his partner at secondary school and the couple have three sons together.

Ede, a heavy drinker, also claimed his Melbourne Gold Company workplace was “toxic”.

Judge David Sexton said Ede committed a “gross violation of trust”.

“You were an active participant in this brazen charade,” Judge Sexton said.

“This was a brazen, sophisticated and well thought out robbery … your role was nevertheless significant.

“You executed an audacious armed robbery (to steal) a bounty of breathtaking proportions.”

Ede, who had spent 290 days in custody, was jailed for a maximum five years and nine months.

Kachami was last November jailed for a maximum of four years with a minimum of two years.

paul.shapiro@news.com.au

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/melbourne-city/melbourne-gold-company-manager-daniel-ede-jailed-for-39-million-gold-heist/news-story/f5954b995e02909ceb47c00b059e4eac