Man joined baby-formula heist syndicate to fund drug habit
A drug addict joined a crime syndicate dedicated to stealing baby formula to fund his longstanding heroin habit. The junkie stole baby formula worth thousands in a string of robberies across Melbourne.
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A man who stole thousands of dollars of baby formula was trying to fund his heroin habit, a court has heard.
Jaswinder Singh, 31, from St Albans, was one of five people arrested over a series of break-ins across Melbourne where tins of formula were stolen.
It’s alleged the syndicate carried out 40 burglaries, loading up with boxes of baby formula in Springvale, Clayton, Bundoora, Point Cook and Werribee between June and July.
Singh faced Sunshine Magistrates’ Court today and pleaded guilty to one charge of theft and one of burglary.
He was convicted and placed on a 12 month community corrections order, with a requirement to undergo drug treatment.
Singh was arrested after he and two co-accused smashed their way into a Springvale business and stole $2000 of boxes of formula about 5.30am on July 14.
He got caught up in the formula stealing heist as a way to supplement his income, the court heard.
Singh has been battling drug issues since 2014 and when stopped for a random search in the street by police in January this year he was found with 0.1 grams of heroin in his back pocket.
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The court heard he grew up in the Indian state of Punjab and moved to Australia to study, before finding work doing odd jobs as a courier.
Magistrate Urfa Masood said she took into account Singh’s early guilty plea.
She urged him to get drug treatment, saying his drug issues were clear.
The other people charged in relation to the baby formula heists will face court at a later date. They are all from St Albans and include a 25-year-old woman, 24-year-old man, 41-year-old man and 35-year-old man.