Southeast junior crime gang’s drugs, guns and stolen luxury car racket exposed after KFC sting
A pack of young wannabe gangsters ran riot in Melbourne’s southeast, peddling meth, a Rolex, stolen luxury cars and even a fully automatic SKS assault rifle. But one mistake brought it all crashing down.
South East
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A southeast junior crime gang which peddled drugs, high-powered guns and stolen luxury cars were brought down by a three-month long police sting that included one member selling drugs to an undercover cop at a KFC store.
Key player Jayden Schmidt, 22, was this month sentenced in the County Court to a minimum 28 months’ jail after pleading guilty to drugs, guns and handling stolen goods charges.
Schmidt was on the police radar when investigators launched “Operation Thrive” in February 2019.
The covert surveillance operation was launched to track Schmidt and his associates’ criminal activity committed throughout Melbourne’s southeast.
An undercover cop infiltrated the gang and met with Schmidt to discuss purchasing meth, cocaine, guns and stolen luxury cars in late February 2019.
Schmidt later sold meth to the operative outside Dandenong KFC on March 7.
The junior gangster sold more meth, and a Rolex watch, to the cop during a deal at Narre Warren just days later.
On April 4, Schmidt was the middleman in a deal to sell the cop a 2016 Audi A4 for $5000.
The A4 – stolen during a Camberwell aggravated burglary – was driven to the Dandenong deal by co-offender Andrew Rohan.
On May 2, Rohan and Schmidt sold the cop a BMW X5, stolen during a Deepdene aggravated burglary, for $5000.
The sting continued when the undercover cop met Schmidt at his Narre Warren home on May 17.
The pair drove to a Berwick shopping centre where co-offender Iqan Mehrdadian and another man showed the cop a fully automatic SKS assault rifle in the boot of a stolen Audi.
Mehrdadian and the other man told the cop they had a buyer for the rifle but if the deal fell through then they would sell it to him.
The court heard the high-powered weapon was capable of firing 100 rounds per minute and the serial number had been removed.
The cop paid $18,000 for the rifle, a magazine loaded with 40 rounds and a further 50 rounds of ammo during another deal at Dandenong on May 21.
Schmidt offered to sell the cop a stolen Mercedes and a sawn-off shotgun with ammo when they met again in Dandenong on May 31.
However, the sting had played out and heavily-armed police moved in and arrested Schmidt.
He was caught with the shotgun and some shells.
The undercover cop said Schmidt had a bumbag during an early meeting which the operative estimated contained about $10,000.
The court heard Schmidt’s criminal record included priors for handling stolen goods and drug trafficking.
Judge Kevin Doyle said Schmidt’s “serious offending” warranted an immediate jail term.
“You have been offending for several years now and there are real risks that you (are) continuing along a path of serious criminality exposed by this offending,” Judge Doyle said.
Schmidt – who had spent 353 days in custody – was jailed for a maximum four years and eight months
Mehrdadian, 19, was this week sentenced to 13 months jail after pleading guilty to prohibited person possessing a firearm and handling stolen goods.
Mehrdadian – who had spent 349 days in custody – must undertake a two-year-community correction order when he is released in six weeks.
Rohan, from Cheltenham, will be sentenced on May 28.
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