Arrests over alleged corruption in Harness Racing.

Five men have been charged with a total of more than 60 offences in relation to alleged corruption in the NSW harness-racing industry.

About 8am yesterday (Thursday 24 November 2011), officers attached to the Casino and Racing Investigation Unit executed search warrants at addresses in Plumpton, Leura, Bossley Park and Woonona, north of Wollongong.

These were followed this morning (Friday 25 November 2011) by the execution of two more search warrants at addresses near Goulburn and in Sydney's Camden area.

During the searches, police seized items relevant to the investigation.

As a result of this operation, detectives today arrested:

A 26-year-old Camden-area man, who was charged with two counts of corruptly give agent benefit and one count of corruptly offer to give agent benefit. He was granted conditional bail to appear at Penrith Local Court on 15 December 2011.
A 47-year-old Goulburn-area man, who was charged with two counts of corruptly give agent benefit and one count of corruptly offer to give agent benefit. He was granted conditional bail to appear at Picton Local Court on 20 December 2011.
Detectives yesterday arrested:

A 48-year-old Leura man, who was charged with 34 counts of agent receive corrupt benefit and four counts of agent attempt receive corrupt benefit. He appeared in Lithgow Local Court yesterday, where he was granted conditional bail to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on 8 December 2011.
A 45-year-old Woonona man, who was charged with seven counts of corruptly give agent benefit and one count of corruptly offer to give agent benefit. He was granted conditional bail to appear at Wollongong Local Court on 20 December 2011.
A 24 year-old Plumpton man, who was charged with nine counts of corruptly give agent benefit and one count of corruptly offer to give agent benefit. He was granted conditional bail to appear at Bankstown Local Court on 14 December 2011.
These arrests follow extensive investigations by Strike Force Tairora into alleged race-fixing and corruption in the harness-racing industry.

Strike Force Tairora comprises detectives from the Casino and Racing Investigation Unit, which operates within the State Crime Command's Firearms and Organised Crime Squad.

The investigation is continuing.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• NSW Police
• Harness Racing
• Harness Racing NSW