Victoria Police detective senior constable Jye Symes accused of falsifying a DNA report linked to major drug case

A woman facing serious drug trafficking charges has had her case thrown out after a senior drug squad cop allegedly tampered with DNA evidence linked to the case.

A woman facing serious drug trafficking charges has had her case thrown out after a senior drug squad cop allegedly tampered with DNA evidence linked to the case. Picture: AAP.

A senior drug squad investigator allegedly tampered with DNA evidence, resulting in the collapse of a major criminal case.

Detective senior constable Jye Symes, 36, faced the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday charged with misconduct in public office.

Dressed in a shirt and tie, the detective sat behind his lawyer Will Parker of Tony Hargreaves & Partners Lawyers, and did not speak during the brief administrative hearing.

Sen Con Symes is accused of falsifying a DNA report linked to a significant drug investigation dating back to 2021.

His alleged actions resulted in charges being withdrawn from Leyna Thai, who is allegedly linked to an international drug syndicate.

Ms Thai was facing seven charges including trafficking a commercial quantity of methyl amphetamine and MDMA, as well as trafficking cocaine, heroin, cannabis.

The court confirmed all charges have been struck out and Victoria Police ordered to pay Ms Thai’s legal costs.

“The Chief Commissioner (is) to pay the accused’s costs in relation to the proceeding,” read a court order made on March 29.

Sen Con Symes was the informant — or lead police investigator — in the matter involving Ms Thai.

Other criminal matters he was involved in have reportedly been wiped from court listings.

It’s possible charges against those individuals could also be wiped due to integrity concerns.

The force will be required to examine evidence handled by Sen Con Symes in each case.

The misconduct charge against Sen Con Symes was laid last week following an internal investigation by Professional Standards Command.

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission also oversighted the probe.

It’s alleged Sen Con Symes tampered with forensic evidence in late 2021, resulting in his arrest in March this year.

“The charge relates to an alleged incident that occurred between 2021 and 2023 while the member was on duty,” Victoria Police said in a statement.

Charge sheets state the accused “wilfully misconducted himself by fraudulently altering documentation which he included in a criminal brief of evidence”.

Sen Con Symes will next appear in court on March 4.