Wade Yates-Taui was granted bail yesterday after police pulled him over at Robina in a $180,000 Mercedes SUV allegedly containing tens of thousands of dollars worth of women’s clothing including swimwear.
The 24-year-old has been on Supreme Court bail since 2015 after he was charged with manslaughter in relation to the stabbing of Max Waller in Broadbeach in 2013.
Along with a 26-year-old passenger, he was yesterday charged with two counts of receiving stolen goods. Detective Inspector Phillip Stevens of bikie-busting Taskforce Maxima said police pulled them over, suspecting the vehicle was stolen but had not anticipated stumbling on to alleged fashion crimes.
“That was unusual,” he said, adding it was the first time he’d encountered an alleged bikie with contraband designer clothes.
“I have never seen it before but these guys are into whatever they can make money out of. And if you are going to get rid of that kind of stuff the Gold Coast would be a good place.”
The stolen clothes may have come from a Sydney boutique ramraided recently, he said. Yates-Taui’s lawyer Michael Gatenby said his client borrowed the car from a friend and didn’t know it contained 44 stolen clothing items including Camilla designer dresses.
Allegations the car was stolen on the Sunshine Coast and registered in NSW occurred while Yates-Taui was in custody.
“There would be no reason he would have knowledge the vehicle was obtained in that way.”