Altona dad busted selling hot property on Snapchat

An Altona dad who turned to selling stolen clothes on Snapchat got a surprise when a potential customer turned out to be more than a little interested in the goods.

Ali Houli pleaded guilty to multiple counts of retention of stolen goods and other offences at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday. Picture: Facebook

An Altona dad trading in hot property was busted by his victim after the man saw him advertising his stolen goods on social media.

Ali Houli, 40, sold dozens of pairs of men’s workboots on Snapchat, the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court heard on Tuesday, January 19.

Senior Constable Feargus Niall told the court a group of men broke into a Laverton North business in October 2017 and made off with $40,000 worth of men’s clothing including jackets, jumpers and 400 pairs of work boots.

They also stole a trailer from the business.

Days later, the enraged business owner was tipped off by a mate about a Snapchat post advertising men’s work clothes for sale at an Altona residential address.

The victim posed as a customer and turned up to the property where he inspected a number of pairs of boots, all of which matched the brands he’d stocked at his warehouse before it was ransacked.

He confronted Houli who fell to pieces and told him he’d bought the property on the cheap from Laverton Market. He denied stealing the boots.

Houli then took the man to an associate’s Williamstown address who also denied stealing the goods, but where the victim found more stolen jackets, T-shirts and jumpers.

The man also regained possession of his trailer from one of Houli’s other associates, who told him he’d bought it from Houli.

Houli pleaded guilty to charges including breaching his bail, driving offences and two counts of retention of stolen goods.

His lawyer Hazel Whalley told the court Houli, who is currently on bail, had previously spent 51 days in presentence detention over the matter.

She said it was a sobering experience given it was his first time in custody and urged the court to place her client on a community corrections order.

She also submitted her client had an acquired brain injury caused by a car accident.

Magistrate Kate Hawkins adjourned the matter for March 1 for sentence.