Canberra lawyer of ‘breastmilk coffee’ fame arrested for money laundering

A "member of the legal community" and an accountant have been arrested by police after a series of search warrants were executed in the nation's capital on Wednesday. ACT police arrested a 47-year-old man after a raid at a law firm in Civic. A second person, a 54-year-old man allegedly associated with the lawyer, was also arrested following further raids conducted at a Kingston accountancy business, a grocery store in Queanbeyan and a location in Farrer. Police allege the men were facilitating organised crime and had met on a number of occasions. It is alleged they discussed how to draft legal contracts and agreements, which could be used to buy a business in order to undertake money laundering of criminal funds. "The men will be charged with offences associated with money laundering," police said in a statement. Detective Superintendent Scott Moller said the arrests followed an eight-month investigation into organised crime in the ACT and surrounding areas. Both men are yet to be formally charged. "This is a fantastic result for ACT Policing," Detective Moller said. "The organised crime landscape in Canberra is continuing to evolve [and] criminal activities are becoming increasingly obscure through new technologies and sophisticated methods. "As ACT Policing looks to follow money from organised crime, we must also find the professional facilitators." He said some involved in organised crimes lacked the necessary skills to carry out their crimes, so enlisted professional facilitators "in particular areas like the financial and legal sector". "ACT Policing will target anyone who engages in illegal activity to help criminals retain and legitimise proceeds of crime," he said. Detective Moller said he expected further arrests and more charges would be laid. "This was a highly sensitive eight-month investigation that targeted covert business practices and services that allowed criminals to commit further crime and hide assets within our community," he said. "My message today would be if you are a professional facilitator for organised crime, we will come looking for you. "We will not stop until we can put a halt to organised crime activity." Police asked anyone with information that could help their investigation to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website and quote reference 6695673. Information can be provided anonymously. More to come

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