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Two Singaporeans jailed in Australia over $500k hidden with meat

Bloomberg file photo
Bloomberg file photo

Two Singaporeans were sentenced to jail in Australia on Tuesday (21 Feb) after pleading guilty to dealing with proceeds of crime in a District Court.

Ryan Marc Pereira and Edward Choi Gou Hang, both 34, was ordered to serve nine and six months in jail respectively.

Both men were arrested in December at the Adelaide Airport after sniffer dogs found AU$519,900 (about S$566,745) in cash which they were trying to bring out of the country.

According to the Australian Associated Press, the duo tried to use T-bone steaks and lamb chops to mask the smell of the cash to prevent sniffer dogs from detecting it.

After their arrest, the pair initially told police that they won the money through gambling, even though they had been in Adelaide for only two days. They later retracted their story, but did not reveal how the cash came into their possession.

Judge Geraldine Davison ruled that both men knew the money was from proceeds of a crime, given that Pereira made trips of similar nature in the past. She added that it was not surprising that they pleaded guilty after being “caught red-handed”.

The men were also ordered to forfeit the cash.