Pair charged over $3m alleged counterfeit stamp haul

Two brothers have been charged with allegedly selling counterfeit stamps online after police found a $3 million haul at a Melbourne property.

Two brothers are charged with allegedly selling fake Aussie stamps online. Picture: Penny Stephens

Two brothers have been accused of selling fake Aussie stamps online in an alleged multi-million dollar scheme.

Shaheryer Khan, 22, and Obaid Khan, 21, are facing a string of charges including possessing and selling counterfeit postage stamps, obtain property by deception and dealing with the proceeds of crime.

The pair, who are from Pakistan and on student visas, applied for bail in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday.

During police raids at a Brunswick East property they allegedly uncovered 36 boxes of counterfeit stamps valued at $3 million, Senior Constable Tim Renshaw told the court.

Police allege the pair sent at least four packages of stamps in amounts of between $3 and $20 each and were selling them online including on eBay.

Officers also allegedly found watches worth $30,000 including a Rolex and an Armani along with 20 SIM cards, an iPad and a computer while searching the pair’s Lygon Street property, senior constable Renshaw said.

One of the brothers had eight bank cards linked to separate accounts and the other had access to five different cards, he told the court.

The officer told the court the pair made “full admissions” about their involvement in the counterfeit operation.

He said they told police they even swapped the SIM cards around so it was difficult for eBay to trace the accounts.

Senior constable Renshaw argued they shouldn’t be granted bail because he feared they could flee overseas and that they had access to bank accounts with “unknown, unlimited” funds.

There were also fears the pair could destroy evidence and there was a “well-secured” facility at Thomastown which police had yet to search, Senior Constable Renshaw said.

Both brothers were arrested on Wednesday when police and Australia Post employees noticed the stamps they were selling online were fake.

Defence lawyer Penny Marcou said the brothers had never been in custody before, were young men and could face a long delay before they faced trial.

The magistrate agreed and granted the pair bail but warned them about what would happen if they breached their conditions.

“The chances of you receiving bail on another occasion are very, very slim,” magistrate Kimberley Swadesir said.

They were ordered to surrender their passports, report to police daily and adhere to a curfew.

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