{"id":190761,"date":"2021-11-01T16:36:26","date_gmt":"2021-11-01T23:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=190761"},"modified":"2021-11-01T17:07:05","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T00:07:05","slug":"alleged-drugs-kingpin-and-star-casino-slots-money-launderer-on-the-lam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alleged-drugs-kingpin-and-star-casino-slots-money-launderer-on-the-lam\/","title":{"rendered":"Alleged Drug Kingpin\/Casino Slots Money Launderer Flees After Sawing-Off Ankle Tag"},"content":{"rendered":"

A suspected drugs kingpin who allegedly laundered millions of dollars through the Star Casino Sydney is on the lam.<\/p>\n

\"Mostafa
Mostafa Baluch, above, is the subject of a nationwide manhunt in Australia after sawing off a monitoring device attached to ankle. (Image: News.com.au)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to authorities, Mostafa Baluch<\/a>, 33, sawed-off a tracking device on his ankle and fled just days after he had been granted bail by a Sydney judge.<\/p>\n

The former Australian restaurateur was arrested in June. He was allegedly part of a foiled plot<\/a> to traffic three tons of cocaine with a street value of US$700 million into the country. Prosecutors describe Baluch as the \u201csole financier\u201d of the operation.<\/p>\n

His family owns the successful Cervo restaurant chain, based in Sydney\u2019s northern beaches.<\/p>\n

Baluch\u2019s associate, Mende Rajkoski, was, until his recent arrest, the biggest slots player at the Star Sydney. He once gambled $US77 million on the machines in one week, despite having a minimal income.<\/p>\n

The casino is under fire for failing to properly vet high rollers, some of whom are alleged to have ties to the criminal underworld.<\/p>\n

Anger Over Bail Decision<\/strong><\/h2>\n

New South Wales police minister David Elliot said he was \u201cdevastated\u201d that Baluch was granted bail, against the advice of police.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis guy was part of an international racket with levels of drugs we have never seen before,\u201d Elliot alleged.<\/p>\n

\n

Baluch is now the subject of a nationwide manhunt. Police are investigating whether he may have left New South Wales on a private jet on the night of his disappearance. But they said on Monday they believed he was still in the country.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Authorities caught wind of Rajkoski\u2019s unusual gambling habits at the Star last year. A subsequent investigation uncovered the plot to flood Sydney with cocaine and led police to Baluch and others.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors have described the operation as a \u201csignificant transnational organized crime syndicate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Police Sting<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In October, the US Navy intercepted two boats off the coast of Colombia carrying 870 kilos of cocaine. That was following a tip from Australian law enforcement. In April, the US Coast Guard seized a further 900 kilos from a boat off the coast of Ecuador.<\/p>\n

Back in in New South Wales, police built a replica of the illicit cargo, which they delivered to a storage facility in Sydney. Rajkoski was arrested when he arrived to collect what he believed was the shipment.<\/p>\n

The media storm around Baluch\u2019s dramatic bid for freedom will heap more bad publicity on operator Star Entertainment. The company, Australian media claims, is accused of \u201cenabling” money laundering.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Star\u2019s shares plunged almost 23 percent last month following the publication of the allegations in several media outlets. That wiped almost $US740 million off its market cap.<\/p>\n

Authorities have said the company will face a public inquiry<\/a> into its operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A suspected drugs kingpin who allegedly laundered millions of dollars through the Star Casino Sydney is on the lam. According to authorities, Mostafa Baluch, 33, sawed-off a tracking device on his ankle and fled just days after he had been granted bail by a Sydney judge. The former Australian restaurateur was arrested in June. He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":190762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlleged Drugs Kingpin and Star Casino Slots Money Launderer on the Lam<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mostafa Baluch, suspected of trying to import 3 tons of cocaine in Australia, and laundering money at Star Sydney, goes on the run.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alleged-drugs-kingpin-and-star-casino-slots-money-launderer-on-the-lam\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alleged Drugs Kingpin and Star Casino Slots Money Launderer on the Lam\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mostafa Baluch, suspected of trying to import 3 tons of cocaine in Australia, and laundering money at Star Sydney, goes on the run.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alleged-drugs-kingpin-and-star-casino-slots-money-launderer-on-the-lam\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-01T23:36:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-02T00:07:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/bal.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1279\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"721\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alleged-drugs-kingpin-and-star-casino-slots-money-launderer-on-the-lam\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alleged-drugs-kingpin-and-star-casino-slots-money-launderer-on-the-lam\/\",\"name\":\"Alleged Drugs Kingpin and Star Casino Slots Money Launderer on the Lam\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alleged-drugs-kingpin-and-star-casino-slots-money-launderer-on-the-lam\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alleged-drugs-kingpin-and-star-casino-slots-money-launderer-on-the-lam\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/bal.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-01T23:36:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-02T00:07:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Mostafa Baluch, suspected of trying to import 3 tons of cocaine in Australia, and laundering money at Star Sydney, goes on the run.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alleged-drugs-kingpin-and-star-casino-slots-money-launderer-on-the-lam\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alleged-drugs-kingpin-and-star-casino-slots-money-launderer-on-the-lam\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alleged-drugs-kingpin-and-star-casino-slots-money-launderer-on-the-lam\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/bal.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/bal.jpg\",\"width\":1279,\"height\":721,\"caption\":\"Mostafa Baluch, above, is the subject of a nationwide police manhunt after sawing off a monitoring device attached to ankle. 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