Pair plead guilty to $A3.2 million Melbourne gold heist

MELBOURNE: A man who helped stage a $A3.2 million ($NZ3.37 million) heist from a Melbourne gold company has been jailed for up to four years.

Karl Kachami had walked into the Melbourne Gold Company with an unloaded gun and said, ‘‘This is a robbery’’.

However, it was all staged.

The business manager, Daniel Ede, played the victim while leading Kachami around the shop. The pair took more than $A3.2 million in gold, jewellery and cash on April 27.

At one point, CCTV showed Ede attempting to draw Kachami’s attention to one safe containing another $A4 million of gold bullion and $A600,000 of cash. He did not take the hint.

After his arrest, Kachami led police to the bulk of the loot buried on a vacant block next to his family’s property at Dollar, in Victoria’s South Gippsland region.

He was jailed by County Court Judge

Howard Mason yesterday for a maximum of four years.

‘‘Had it not been for your ineptitude, the amount [stolen] could have been much higher,’’ the judge said.

The 48yearold claimed he’d been driven by financial stress; Judge Mason pointed out Kachami had amassed a multimilliondollar property portfolio at the time of the robbery.

Kachami and his pretend victim both pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and theft. — AAP