A 28-year-old Wollongong man will spend over a year behind bars for his involvement in the attempted sale of half-a-million dollars worth of opals, stolen from an Albion Park Rail home last year.
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Ricky Munn confessed to being the middle man in the heist, taking a sample of the stolen gems to Melbourne with hopes of securing a buyer.
A set of agreed facts tendered to the court said four men forced their way inside a Princes Highway home on February 10 last year and took the opals at gunpoint in a slick, timed operation that lasted less than two minutes.
It is not clear who took custody of the gemstones over the next few months, however, court documents reveal Munn had the bulk of the opals by mid-April.
Munn was tasked with finding a buyer for the gems. After finding little luck with a sale in Wollongong, he headed to Melbourne.
Secret police phone taps show he and one of the alleged thieves were in regular contact to discuss the progress of the negotiations, and Munn was concerned at least one buyer knew the gems were stolen.
"He wouldn't give me nothing for them because he knew, he ended up working out where they were from," Munn said at the time.
The court heard one of the alleged thieves travelled to Melbourne to meet with Munn. They stayed together in a St Kilda hotel apartment for a week.
Victorian police swooped on the pair on the morning of May 11 as they checked out of their suite. Officers uncovered a large number of opals in a backpack the duo had with them.
Munn told the courts on Monday he was not aware the gems were taken in a home invasion, and he would not have been involved if he knew.
Before the heist, Munn was living in Melbourne but decided to return to Wollongong for a week after separating from his girlfriend. The week turned quickly into a months-long "blur" after he began using methamphetamine, he explained. It was during this time he met the other man.
"I started spiralling downhill rapidly," Munn told the court.
Prosecutor Tanya Collison said attempting to sell the opals was a "serious offence".
"He took an active part in sourcing buyers, providing advice and keeping the co-accused up to date," she said.
In his decision, Judge Haesler noted that Munn had a "long history of living outside the law with no support," stemming from "a childhood of deprivation and shame".
He sentenced Munn to two years, seven months jail. He will be eligible for parole after 19 months.
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