Group accused of acting as a syndicate and buying jackpots worth $4.7m from pokie winners
A trio accused of a $5m pokies money laundering operation in Melbourne’s southeast have faced court after a major Australian Federal Police operation.
Police & Courts
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A trio accused of a $5m pokies money laundering operation spent between six and 12 hours a day at gaming venues allegedly trying to clean cash, a court heard.
Springvale South woman Tram Ngoc Tran, 49, and Noble Park pair Lan Huong Lam, 61, and Xuan Huynh, 63, face a single charge each of dealing with the proceeds of crime amid allegations they acted as a syndicate and bought jackpots worth $4.7m from pokie winners.
Following a 12-month police sting using covert operatives and CCTV, the trio was arrested on Tuesday and warrants were executed at their homes, where gold bullion and $170k in cash were allegedly found in Springvale South.
Greyhound Entertainment in Springvale was also raided, where it’s alleged the group bought poker machine winners’ prizes at a premium, had cheques issued in their names then deposited the clean cash into banks as legitimate winnings.
Earlier, the AFP said that almost three-quarters of cheques were issued to a small group of alleged syndicate members.
The Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday was told that police needed 12 weeks to compile a massive amount of CCTV footage from 44 cameras at two pokies venues after the accused spent between six and 12 hours daily at the venues over 10 months, from November to September.
The trio, listening to the court hearing through a Vietnamese interpreter, have all been granted bail and were ordered not to attend any licenced venues.
Defence lawyer Jacinta Robinson, for Ms Lam and Mr Huynh, said police had seized their drivers’ licences, healthcare cards and medical scripts to include on the brief of evidence.
The court directed police to return the materials by Wednesday.
The matter will return to Melbourne Magistrates’ Court for a committal mention of February 16.
The Australian Federal Police’s year-long operation Avarus Arvon involved Austrac, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission and the National Australia Bank.
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