By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A Hampton Park painter has avoided jail after being found with $707,800 cash in his luggage at Melbourne Airport.
Dejan Tomic, 28, pleaded guilty to dealing with more than $100,000 cash suspected as proceeds of crime in the Victorian County Court.
He showed a lack of criminal sophistication if not “naivety” after being stopped by investigators at Melbourne Airport in June 2019, sentencing judge Michael O’Connell said on 29 September.
After being found with $7850 cash in a backpack, Tomic told officers he was still awaiting a suitcase on the airport’s carousel.
“There’s nothing in there, mate – clothes,” he told police.
On inspection, $699,950 cash in nine vacuum-sealed bags was found in the suitcase.
He later claimed he had returned from a friend’s wedding at Brisbane, where he was offered $5000 to courier the suitcase. On the known facts, this was “not entirely implausible”, Judge O’Connell noted.
Tomic said he was aware there was money inside, but not how much.
Authorities suspected the cash was out of proportion with Tomic’s income of about $1000 a week, Judge O’Connell noted.
Tomic owned three assets – a Range Rover, Holden Cruze and Ford Transit, and lived with his parents.
The Bosnian-born refugee and his family migrated to Springvale in 1998, later moving to Hampton Park.
The talented soccer player had escalated into ice addiction after a relationship breakdown.
Judge O’Connell noted the amount of cash was more than seven times the threshold requirement, which was “almost invariably” punished by jail.
Assisting in money laundering played an important role in organised crime, he said.
However, Tomic’s role was “limited”, and there was no evidence of pre-planning before he left for Brisbane, the court heard.
Tomic had no prior convictions, with much of his life in front of him, Judge O’Connell said.
The judge was impressed by Tomic’s “exceptional” and sustained rehabilitation since his arrest, relying on a depth of family and friend support.
Since his arrest, Tomic had been reportedly committed to drug rehabilitation counselling.
His treatment recently intensified after a relapse – a positive test to cocaine in June.
Tomic regularly attended and volunteered a Serbian Orthodox church in Keysborough, returned to assist at Noble Park United Football Club and bought into a gym franchise, the judge noted.
Jail would “risk undermining if not destroying” his reformation and “more importantly, the community’s long-term interests”.
“It’s not a risk that’s worth taking.”
Tomic was jailed for 14 months but immediately released on a recognizance release order – a $5000 good-behaviour bond for 14 months.
