A MELBOURNE-BASED wool agent has been fined $15,000 for fraudulently tampering with wool bales for his personal profit.
Ian Kenneth McLean, 52, was charged by Victoria Police agricultural liaison officers last October with one count of obtaining property by deception.
According to investigators the agent substituted a higher grade of wool for testing and sampling, from 36 bales or more than 6000 kilograms of wool, in order to achieve a higher sale price and then substituted a lower grade for sale.
Mr McLean achieved this by falsely altering the station brands and bale numbers to mislead buyers that the wool was of a higher quality and made an estimated $3000-$5000 from the deception.
Victoria Police head of livestock and farm crime Superintendent Craig Gillard said the case could have had serious ramifications for Australia's wool exports.
"This could have had a huge impact on the China Australia trade agreement around the purchase of wool," Supt Gillard said.
"It could have had a disastrous impact on the industry by affecting the country's reputation - these sorts of actions we and our partners within the industry are keen to stamp out."
Supt Gillard said the one-month investigation was a joint effort between industry people and Victoria Police, whose members tracked the bales from producer through the agent's point of sale.
"We followed the sample, both physically and with its certificates, from producer to end-point and matched that against wool classification certificates," he said.
In October last year, police executed two warrants to search for evidence and documents pertaining to the offence at the offender's work premise and home address.
"He pleaded guilty to two charges of obtaining property by deception from Techwool Trading Pty Ltd and PJ Morris Wool Pty Ltd at last month's hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates Court.
"The magistrate was concerned with the level of offending and potential repercussions to the industry's trade.
"His sentence reflected the magistrate's concerns, with the very significant $15,000 fine (without conviction)."