wmlro.com: illegal immigrant to be charged with laundering scheme.

The 31 year old is not, as yet, charged with immigration offences but it is understood that he is said to be in Australia illegally although whether that means as a result of illegal entry or as a result of overstaying is not known.

By the end of the hearing, police say, more than 130 charges will have been laid including:

- opening bank and other accounts in a false name

- making a false instrument with intent

- using a false instrument with intent

- knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime i.e. money laundering.

The allegations are that cheques totalling more than AUD1 million were stolen from mailboxes at apartment blocks and offices then presented through accounts opened, using false documents produced for the purpose, in false names.

The arrest is part of New South Wales' police's "Operation Gulliver" which was set up to combat theft of cheques and documents used in identity fraud from mailboxes which are frequently in unsupervised parts of buildings. NSW police tied cases together and concluded that there is an organised element to the offences.

There was a concentration of offences in the North Sydney district and police set up cameras in several mailbox locations, capturing a person raiding mailboxes in a video they published on YouTube. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect to the raids are the ease with which the mailboxes are opened and the fact that the suspect clearly does not consider himself to be under any pressure for time or of being discovered. The video is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqdhGWYOChs&feature=player_embedded

Late last year a Chinese national was arrested and charged with laundering more than AUD500,000 and a warrant was issued for another Chinese national: Peng Zhang aged 24 for his alleged part in the scheme.

The full list of offences that will be laid against the Indonesian today are:

- six offences including making a false document to obtain financial advantage.
· 20 counts of open account with a cash dealer in a false name
· 20 counts of make false instrument with intent
· 53 counts of use false instrument with intent
· 37 counts of knowingly deal with proceeds of crime