A postie has been allegedly caught red-handed stealing bank cards from the mail, helping him and his mates earn at least $1.4 million.
Police raided the homes of Mauro Paul Coluzzi and two other men, aged 35 and 27, in southern Sydney where they found a treasure trove of stolen goods.
These included wads of Australian and US cash totalling more than $14,000, a Rolex watch, Louis Vuitton handbags, a Taser, electronic items and cartons of cigarettes.
It followed a nine-month police investigation after residents in Sydney's affluent eastern suburbs and their banks noticed fraud in mid-2024.
Coluzzi allegedly diverted bank cards mailed to Edgecliff, Woollahra and Double Bay and supplied them to two separate organised crime syndicates.
"They (the trio of men) have used the money for their own gains," Financial Crimes Squad detective Con Galea told reporters.
"We're talking about seizure of expensive items, clothing items, electronic items.
"They were all working for themselves."
Hundreds of bank customers had been fleeced out of their own funds, the acting superintendent said.
More than $1.4 million worth of fraud was alleged committed on the cards but police expect the value to increase considerably as they unearth more information about the thefts.
Coluzzi, the postal worker, and another man were known to police and continued with the alleged scheme until police pounced on Wednesday morning, Det Galea said.
The 56-year-old postie from Rockdale has been charged with 145 offences including fraud and appropriating an article in the Australia Post system.
A court on Thursday bailed Coluzzi on a $400,000 surety and strict conditions including quasi-home detention ahead of a further mention on September 4.
He has been stood down from his job until a court outcome is reached, a source told AAP.
A post spokeswoman said Australia Post would continue supporting NSW Police with the "very serious matter".
The 35-year-old man, Ashish Tamrakar, was arrested at another Rockdale home, where he was charged with 66 counts of fraud-related offences including receiving stolen mail and participating in a criminal group.
He was refused bail and is due to appear before a court on the same day as Coluzzi.
The youngest man, Ibrahim Abbas, was arrested in Roselands and charged with 80 offences including fraud and attempted fraud.
He was remanded in custody and is due to appear in court on September 18.
None of the men have entered pleas to the charges.
More arrests and charges are expected under the strike force, police said.
