Daniel Ede, the inside man on a CBD gold heist has pleaded guilty
A man who pretended to be the victim of one of Victoria’s biggest heists has been revealed as an inside man, admitting to his role in the multimillion-dollar gold theft.
Police & Courts
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The inside man who pretended to be the victim of a multimillion-dollar gold robbery has admitted he helped pull off one of Victoria’s biggest heists.
Daniel Ede, 37, played the role of the innocent worker in the brazen daylight robbery at the Melbourne Gold Company in April, telling police he had been robbed at gunpoint by a man wearing a surgical mask.
But soon after, detectives charged Ede with having staged his role in the Collins St heist alongside Karl Kachami, who made off with almost $3.9 million in gold bullion, cash and jewellery.
Ede on Wednesday pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and theft in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court after three charges relating to firearm and false statement offences were withdrawn.
Detectives earlier told the court they had recovered much of the stolen loot which co-offender Kachami been buried in the rural town of Dollar, near Leongatha after the heist, but said almost $300,000 in cash remained missing.
Kachami, who was arrested just two days after the robbery, pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, theft and firearms offences in August.
CCTV footage of the fake holdup showed Kachami entering the Collins St business shortly before 10am on April 27 before creeping up behind Ede and pulling out a black Glock handgun, saying “this is a robbery, this is a hold up”.
Police say it was obvious from the footage there was no magazine in the gun, and Kachami put the weapon away once he thought Ede had turned off the security cameras.
Kachami then led Ede through the businesses, stopping at locked safes and ordering him to stuff duffel bags with gold, jewellery and cash.
He then ordered his friend to lie face down, bound his wrists with cable ties and fled the building.
Days after the robbery, a local Leongatha resident spotted Ede parked on the side of the rural highway looking at a map.
He told the woman he was looking for a “place called Dollar”.
When she asked what he wanted to do there, Ede responded: “I’m just going to do some digging around”.
The men will return to court on October 29.