That’s gold: Robber off to jail over staged $3.2 million bullion heist
A man who helped stage a multimillion-dollar gold heist and hid the loot at a place called Dollar could walk from jail in less than two years.
An inept robber has been jailed over a staged gold heist. (REUTERS/Arko Datta)
Karl Kachami walked into the Melbourne Gold Company with an unloaded gun and said “this is a robbery”.
It was all staged. The business manager, Daniel Ede, played the victim while leading Kachami around the shop.
The pair stole more than $3.2 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 $4 million of gold bullion and $600,000 of cash.
He didn’t 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 on Monday 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 48-year-old claimed he’d been driven by financial stress.
Judge Mason pointed out Kachami had amassed a multimillion-dollar property portfolio at the time of the robbery. His wife worked for a bank.
Kachami and his pretend victim both pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and theft.
Kachami has also admitted possessing an unregistered handgun.
He must serve two years before becoming eligible for release on parole.
The 87 days he’s spent behind bars awaiting sentence will count towards that.
-AAP
