Melbourne pizza shop a front for drug trafficking
A pizza restaurant in the Melbourne suburb of Sunshine came under investigation after police followed up on drug trafficking suspicions.
Police were clued in when customers were observed leaving with no “pizza boxes”.
According to Senior Constable Sean Armstrong, the shop was a “front business” and was not operating or able to operate “at a scale you’d expect from a pizza shop”.
Dom‘s Pizza and Pasta Restaurant was raided by police on August 19, where owner Goran Bijeljic was found with 5kg of the drug ice and $1932 in cash hidden in his trousers.
Police also found 55g of cannabis, two small bottles of 1,4 butanediol, a taser and a bowie knife.
A customer walked in during the search and admitted to police that she was there to buy meth.
On Wednesday, Bijeljic appeared in the Sunshine Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to trafficking methamphetamine and cannabis, dealing with the proceeds of crime, possession of prohibited weapons and committing an indictable offence while on bail.
“Leading up to the search warrant we observed people attending, but they were not there to buy pizza,” Senior Constable Sean Armstrong said.
Bijeljic’s defence lawyer Ahmet Yucel said for 31 years the shop has been run as a legitimate business and it had suffered through Covid lockdowns.
“It’s his passion, it’s what he does,” he said. “He lives and breathes pizza.
“While he’s in custody an acquaintance is running the restaurant but that’s only a temporary set-up,” he said. “He wants to get back to work.”
The case was adjourned to Friday, when Bijeljic will be sentenced.
Magistrate Amina Bhai ordered Bijeljic be assessed for a community corrections order.
Irit Jackson, 21st October 2021
