Two Indian nationals have been sentenced for carrying out a spate of 'well-organised' heists across warehouses in Melbourne between June and August 2018.
The County Court of Victoria sentenced Gurwinder Gill to a maximum of three years behind bars for stealing half a million dollars worth of baby formula and vitamins on Wednesday.
Co-accused Navjinder Singh was sentenced to 18 months with a non-parole period of 12 months for his role in the series of thefts on Thursday.
Mr Gill pleaded guilty to nine burglaries:
Earlier this year, Gurwinder Gill pleaded guilty to 19 charges connected to the theft during which goods worth $541,000 were stolen.
His burglaries included $63,000 worth in Preston, $90,000 in Burwood and he loaded $90,000 worth of goods into a truck in Mount Waverley.
A day after the Mount Waverley incident, Mr Gill along with two other accused was arrested, after the truck with the stolen goods was spotted outside a house in St Albans, according to court records.
During a previous hearing, detectives told the court that the group used trucks and vans to transfer the goods stolen from the storage facilities to ship them to China and other Asian countries, where the baby formula is in high demand.
They used power tools to enter the warehouses and would disable security alarms and CCTV cameras to buy time during the heists, the court heard.
Mr Singh admitted stealing goods worth $170,000 along with two vehicles:
Navjinder Singh, who came to Australia on a student visa in 2014, got involved in the crime syndicate, after he was expelled from his uncle’s home following an argument, the court heard.
While staying with a friend, he was introduced to heroin, which eventually got him into committing burglaries to fund his addiction.
His father, who is a policeman in India, is "angered" by the shame and embarrassment Mr Singh’s acts have caused the family, Judge Michael Cahill heard during a previous hearing.
Mr Singh also admitted stealing two vehicles, one of which belonged to his employer.
He fled the state after he was granted bail over the burglaries, but was later arrested in New South Wales, the court heard.
In August, the third co-accused, Herdeep Singh, who acted as a ‘lookout’ for the syndicate was sentenced to 21 months in jail with a non-parole period 15 months for his role in eight thefts.
All three of them will most likely be deported on their release from prison.
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