It’s not a very dignified end.
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A luxury car, believed to be a Maserati, lies upside down, burnt out in bush west of Tomerong.
It is believed to be one of the cars at the centre of the $17m cryptocurrency drug bust at Callala just over a week ago.
State Crime Command’s Criminal Groups Squad established Strike Force Royden in April last year to investigate criminal networks involved in the supply of illicit drugs in NSW.
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Three people Cody Ronald Ward, 25, of Callala Beach, Shanese Koullias, 24, of Callala Bay and Patricia Koullias, 20, of Quakers Hill were arrested and charged with a variety of offences including supplying prohibited drugs being part of a criminal group and knowingly deal with proceeds of crime. Ward was also charged with knowingly direct activities of criminal group.
After executing a number of search warrants investigators also seized three vehicles, a Lexus, a Mercedes-Benz, and a Ford Falcon.
At the time police said inquiries into the ownership of a fourth vehicle – a Maserati – were continuing.
It is understood that vehicle was taken from the Callala Beach property some time over the weekend of February 16-17 and found alight down a bush track off Blackbutt Range Road in the Parma Creek Nature Reserve bordered by the Princes Highway, Turpentine and Braidwood roads.
Shoalhaven RFS district manager Superintendent Mark Williams said crews from Tomerong, Falls Creek, West Nowra, Culburra Beach, Greenwell Point and Cambewarra were called to the area around 8.44am on February 17.
“We received reports through a triple 0 call of smoke in the area and crews found a luxury vehicle on fire, which had spread to nearby bushland,” he said.
Crews quickly extinguished a 200 metre x 600 metre section of bush which was alight.
“Our main issue was not the fire escaping, it was the need of water,” Supt Williams said.
“The fire was in a very remote area and we needed a large supply of water to ensure it was completely blacked out.”
Supt Williams said it was possible the car might have been alight for some time before crews arrived.
“We could see it was a luxury vehicle, which was later confirmed as a Maserati,” he said.
“Police were notified of the discovery.”
On Ward’s Facebook and Instagram accounts he proudly shows off some of his “toys” including a Mercedes-Benz and a black Maserati, a 2006 Gransport 4.2L v8, which he raced.
Read more: Crime/Court