Crime News

Stop, (Alleged) Thief!

Do you know the man behind the mask? Police want to talk to him about a stealing offence in Bondi Junction. If you have any information, please call Rose Bay Police on 9362 6399 or CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.

Former Politician’s Son Accused of Dark Web Drug Supply

The son of former NSW Liberal leader Kerry Chikarovski has landed in extremely hot water, accused of running a dark web trade in cocaine and other illicit drugs.

Police say they caught 37-year-old Mark Chikarovski packing up drugs in a Bondi Junction apartment where he has been living with his young family while their Vaucluse home is being renovated. A simultaneous raid took place on the Vaucluse property.

Chikarovski was led out of the apartment block in handcuffs and taken to Waverley Police Station. He was charged with 31 offences including drug supply and dealing in the proceeds of crime. Police say he sold cocaine, meth and MDMA over the dark web, with his clients paying him in cryptocurrency. He then sent out the deals by Australia Post.

After spending a night in a cell, Chikarovski appeared in Waverley Court where he was allowed $500,000 bail. He must abide by a number of strict conditions, including not going online or using Australia Post services. Meanwhile, police have seized two Porsche SUVs, more than $269,000 in cryptocurrency, $30,000 cash, electronic devices and other property.

Girlfriend Killer Gets Parole

A man who strangled his 18-year-old ex-girlfriend, then dumped the body in a Queens Park apartment complex, has walked free after being granted parole.

William Matheson, now 40, murdered Disney animator Lyndsay van Blanken in 2003, bundling the body into a cricket bag which lay undiscovered in a storage room for three weeks.

He has been freed under strict conditions including staying on anti-psychotic medication, wearing an electronic ankle bracelet and residing at his parents’ Eastern Suburbs home.

Caddick Disappearance Still Shrouded in Mystery

Mystery continues to surround the disappearance and presumed death of conwoman Melissa Caddick after an inquest failed to reach any concrete conclusions.

Deputy Coroner Elizabeth Ryan concluded that Caddick was dead. However she could throw no further light on the theory that the Dover Heights woman had thrown herself into the ocean from a cliff the day after a raid by corporate investigators. Three months later, her dismembered foot was found encased in a designer sneaker on a South Coast beach.

Caddick’s husband Anthony Koletti came in for a harsh serve from Ms Ryan, who indicated he knew more than he was letting on and that he had not given a “frank account” to police. After the hearing, Koletti barged through a media scrum outside the court. Nearby, Caddick’s brother Adam Grimley sat in a car with the horn blaring so it would ruin the audio in news reports. After shoving a TV reporter, Koletti got in the car, slamming the door violently shut before the vehicle sped away. But it does not close the door on the Caddick case, where investors in a Ponzi scheme were left almost $24 million out of pocket as Caddick and Koletti led indulgent lifestyles. Civil proceedings are going through the courts.

Uneasy Rider

A 56-year-old Bondi man found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time when he took an illegal trail bike for a spin in Clovelly.

It was 8.30am and cops from Botany Bay Highway Patrol were visiting Clovelly Public School with Coogee MP Marjorie O’Neill for National Walk

Safely to School Day. Seeing a Highway Patrol car outside the school with lights flashing, the rider stopped the bike at the intersection of Arden and Varna Streets, then got off and walked it around the corner. But he’d been spotted, and when officers ran down to the corner they found him standing beside the bike using his phone.

“Checks revealed that the registration of the bike had expired in March 2021 and the bike had no number plate, indicators or headlight assembly,” police reported in a Facebook post.

The bike was seized and the man will be appearing in Waverley Court to answer a string of charges.

No Birds for Bin Chicken Man

A man who grabbed an ibis and tried to stuff it into a shopping trolley faces unusual bail conditions after appearing on animal cruelty charges at Waverley Court.

Tom Quach, 60, will have police paying a visit to his Maroubra home up to three times a week to check that there are no ibises or other protected birds destined for the dinner plate. He was also ordered to undergo mental health treatment at Prince of Wales Hospital.

Subject Morning Swim Location Maroubra

Photographer Hassan @hassanzaheer_

Subject Fire in the Sky Location Dover Heights

Photographer Dov Frazer @dovman

Subject Privileged Location Bondi

Photographer Amaury Treguer @morningbondi

Subject Dog Tired Location Coogee

Photographer Brody Vancers

Subject Moody Location Coogee

Photographer Michael Stewart