By Lucy Cormack
It was the hum of a spinning turbine that police officers heard first.
The sound was familiar but hard to place in the underground car park of the boutique Jacksons Landing apartment complex in inner Sydney.
Building manager Jaden Hati.Credit: LinkedIn
Detectives arrived at the Pyrmont property just hours after they raided a house in Lane Cove.
The raid followed an investigation into alleged drug supply across the city and secured the arrest of 34-year-old Nicholas Weigall who had been living in the home. Anthony Bortolussi, 26, and another man were also arrested for drug possession. Neither man has entered a plea to the charges.
A pair of "limited edition" Nike sneakers for sale on Facebook Marketplace.Credit: Facebook
But it was not the drugs in the north shore property that would point investigators to Pyrmont. Instead it was clothing, tools and mountain bikes.
There were more suspect items on Facebook Marketplace listed for sale by Mr Weigall, like $250 Hunter gumboots, $1500 worth of scuba diving equipment and a pair of “limited edition” $1000 Nike sneakers “looking for a quick sale.”
Many of the goods had previously been reported stolen during break-and-enter incidents from the same complex of buildings in Pyrmont. All were managed by one man: Jaden Hati.
The 42-year-old building manager had been employed by property firm BGIS to manage four of the Jacksons Landing buildings known as Knox on Bowman, Silk, Stonecutters and Sugar Dock.
But it was on the sixth floor basement car park of the Sugar Dock building that Mr Hati’s caretaker duties had allegedly turned criminal.
As investigators discovered the noise in the underground car park it suddenly clicked. The sound was the rumble of a clothes dryer and a washing machine mid-cycle.
It was coming from behind a door to a room that only Mr Hati knew was there. Inside he had constructed an elaborate living space between skinny passageways and repurposed rainwater tanks.
Other products for sale on Mr Weigall's Facebook Marketplace account.Credit: Facebook
It may have lacked natural light, but the cave-like space had all the creature comforts of any home: kitchenette, bathroom, bedroom and the compact laundry.
As well as the home essentials the space was filled with hundreds of items believed to be the proceeds of crime. Its walls were covered with flat-screen television monitors amid shelves packed with allegedly stolen goods.
Inside one rainwater tank investigators also found the beginnings of what is alleged to be an indoor hydroponic cannabis set-up.
Under Sugar Dock: The concealed space where Jaden Hati had been living.Credit: NSW Police
Police would later discover the monitors were illegally connected to the video stream of CCTV cameras around the residential development, which houses at least 2500 people.
In the days following the discovery of the alleged cave police were unable to locate Mr Hati, who was now wanted on charges of destroying or damaging property worth more than $15,000, serious property theft of goods worth more than $5000 and cultivating an indoor cannabis plantation.
Jaden Hati.
However, on July 18 a police pursuit for Mr Hati would end in his arrest at the Royal Hotel in Sutherland, where he was attending the wake of his girlfriend’s great-grandmother.
He remains in custody and will face a Sydney court in November over the alleged property theft conducted in his time as a building manager in Pyrmont.
The waterfront Jacksons Landing development was completed in 2013. Made up of 18 different strata complexes, the site is handled by two property management firms, one of which was Mr Hati’s former employer BGIS.
Mr Hati, a New Zealand citizen, had been employed by the firm for around 18 months. Residents recall him as being “lovely ... handy with repairs” and “good at finding the best deal” with contractors.
While many only became aware of the alleged criminal activity following his arrest, suspicions were raised with Jacksons Landing's security firm last year.
In November, Australian Frontline Services (AFS) became aware of an illegitimate account accessing their database that hosted video streams from CCTV cameras across the development, allegedly created by Mr Hati.
The account was listed under the name “George Clooney” and was paired with a profile picture of the Hollywood star.
Residents believe it was around this time Mr Hati may have begun his “renovations” in the Sugar Dock basement.
When the “Clooney” account was discovered, AFS deleted the profile and revoked access, however Mr Hati was not approached and the matter was not referred to police.
Property allegedly stolen and stored in the Pyrmont apartment building.
Four months later residents from Knox on Bowman, Silk, Stonecutters and Sugar Dock began reporting a series of thefts from storage cages in the shared car park. Some reported the stolen goods to AFS and others to police.
It would be thanks to those few police reports that investigators would venture to the Pyrmont site in late-July, following a search warrant at the Lane Cove property where Mr Weigall, Mr Bortolussi and a third man were arrested.
During the July raid police had seized a mobile phone belonging to Mr Hati who was allegedly an associate of Mr Weigall.
The phone was later examined to reveal images of an apparent underground living space and police were subsequently led to Jacksons Landing to discover the haul of more than 250 stolen items in the building manager’s underground residence.
Golf clubs, power tools, clothing, poker chips and a range of other sporting equipment were just some of the personal items allegedly stolen from storage cages by Mr Hati.
Police are examining whom Mr Hati may have been working with in order to allegedly steal the goods and list them for sale.
Jacksons Landing in Pyrmont.Credit: James Brickwood
As the building manager Mr Hati had access to software that allowed him to duplicate keys and fobs for car parks and shared spaces.
It has since been discovered that he was allegedly accessing CCTV footage from more than 10 screens in his bedroom and giving non-residents unauthorised access to car parks.
He remains in custody charged with the ongoing supply of prohibited drugs and knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime.
Jacksons Landing community association chair Mary Mortimer said the organisation regretted the security breach “and the concern it has caused in our community.”
“We thank the police and our security service AFS for their diligence, and trust that the situation will soon be resolved.”
BGIS was sacked as the estate manager for the Sugar Dock complex by a vote at a general meeting of owners two weeks ago. A spokeswoman for the company declined to comment when contacted by the Herald.
When Mr Hati faced court after his arrest last month Sutherland magistrate Peter Bugden refused bail, citing his native New Zealand and finding the remaining Pyrmont property offences gave him “every reason to flee the jurisdiction.”
He will appear at Central Local Court in November.