A Sydney man accused of significant credit card fraud was preparing to flee the country when he was found with packed bags and his passport in a routine traffic stop on Mount Ousley, a court has heard.
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It is alleged Indian-born Waseem Syed became aware he was wanted for questioning over his apparent role in a $100,000 shopping spree involving a stolen Mastercard earlier this year and had decided to skip the country before he was tracked down.
Prosecutors claim the 27-year-old packed six bags, his passport and $5000 in cash and organised to be driven to Wollongong on Tuesday, instructing his driver to “leave him there”.
“Police believe he was in the process of leaving Australia,” Port Kembla Local Court was told on Wednesday.
However, the court heard Syed’s driver was randomly stopped coming down Mount Ousley, at which time Highway Patrol officers became aware of Syed’s ‘wanted’ status.
He was taken to Wollongong Police Station and charged with 20 counts of financial fraud.
Documents tendered to court during Syed’s bail application claim he used the stolen card to buy 47 new iPhones, three laptops, a Nikon camera, two pairs of Chanel sunglasses, a Louis Vutton wallet and two pairs of men’s leather boots between 10am and 6.30pm on June 3.
The items, totaling $97,000, were bought by Syed at stores in Chatswood, Hornsby, Bondi Junction and the city, police claim.
His movements were captured on CCTV camera, with police claiming he used the same email address to register each of the phones.
In opposing bail, police argued Syed posed an extreme flight risk, noting his housemates had told officers he hadn’t lived at his listed address in Wiley Park for at least two years, although still had mail delivered there.
Police also questioned his apparently lavish lifestyle given he had been unemployed since 2011.
However, defence lawyer Paul Paine said Syed was financially supported by his businessman and politician father in India and therefore didn’t have to work.
Mr Paine also questioned the prosecution’s submission that Syed had been about to leave the country, noting Wollongong had no international points of departure.
Registrar Nicole Hoffman refused bail on account of the apparent strength of the the case against Syed, saying there were “a number of unknowns” about his current living situation that caused her concern.
Syed will reappear in Parramatta Local Court on Thursday to make a fresh bail application in front of a magistrate. His case will then return to Sydney.
