Bathroom find sparked arrests of alleged major drug syndicate members
Strange objects in a suburban bathroom helped police arrest more than a dozen people allegedly involved in a major drug syndicate in two states.
Unusual items allegedly spotted in a suburban Melbourne bathroom helped police arrest more than a dozen people accused of involvement in a major drug ring in Victoria and Tasmania.
Up to 16 people have been charged in connection to the alleged syndicate, with large amounts of cash, jewellery, mobile phones and vehicles seized.
One of the alleged syndicate members is mum-of-two Soo Phing Chew who was granted bail in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Friday.
The 36-year-old Malaysian woman was arrested after police searched her rented property at Tarneit, in Melbourne’s west, in February last year.
Ms Chew is facing 11 charges including trafficking a commercial quantity of meth, reckless conduct endangering life, negligently dealing with the proceeds of crime and other drug offences.
Police allegedly uncovered a hidden drug lab when they went to see the woman and her partner about a separate matter.
One officer asked to use the toilet and when he went into the bathroom, police allege he came across a large rotary evaporator, liquids inside glassware and more than a 100 litres of acetone, court documents show.
But when police asked the couple about the bathroom and another apparently locked door Ms Chew and her partner said they didn’t have a key to access the other and did not use that part of the house.
They were both arrested and the property was searched, with police allegedly uncovering more than $7000 in cash, 5kg of pure meth and receipts for large amounts of chemicals.
There were also documents showing Ms Chew was allegedly paying for another property at Truganina that was subsequently raided and police allegedly uncovered cannabis, 2.4kg of meth and precursor chemicals.
After Ms Chew and her partner were arrested and charged, another 22 properties were raided across Victoria and Tasmania that were allegedly linked to the syndicate.
Large quantities of meth, chemicals, glassware, cannabis, cash, mobile phones, vehicles and jewellery were allegedly found in the raids.
The alleged drug trafficking syndicate is accused of running a “large scale enterprise” since 2018 which involved three secret meth labs, cultivated cannabis and imported precursor chemicals.
Authorities also suspected money laundering was done through poultry farms and rural labour hire businesses to legitimise the syndicate’s income.
Ms Chew and her partner were “facilitating” the production of meth at their rental properties and the cultivation of cannabis under the direction of alleged syndicate leaders, police claimed.
Prosecutors opposed her getting bail, saying she would be an “unacceptable risk” because she could flee the state and had limited ties to Victoria.
She was also found with more than $40,000 in cash and had alleged connections to a high-level syndicate, the court was told at her earlier bail hearing.
They also found Ms Chew’s DNA on gloves discovered in the meth lab at the Tarneit property, the court was told.
But defence lawyer James Anderson said his client faced a lengthy delay before any trial, had her children in the state, had no access to her passport and current restrictions prohibit most people leaving the country.
Ms Chew also had no prior criminal history and wanted to reunite with her young children.
She was granted bail by Justice Lex Lasry on Friday under strict conditions including surrendering any travel documents, sticking to a curfew, reporting to a police station three times a week, only using one phone and giving the PIN to police.
She and the other accused will return to court later this month.