Australia Today

Sydney Building Manager Allegedly Found Living in ‘Aladdin’s Cave’ Beneath Apartments

The building's underground storage area had been converted into a living space and filled with residents' stolen belongings.
Gavin Butler
Melbourne, AU
Cave under the apartment complex in Sydney
Inside the cave. Image via Facebook/NSW Police Force

A little over a month ago, investigators in Sydney discovered an “elaborate cave” beneath a boutique inner-city apartment complex. The underground storage area beneath the building on Bowman Street, Pyrmont, had been converted into a living space with a kitchenette, laundry, and bathroom. One water tank was converted into a bedroom, its walls lined with more than 10 flat-screen TVs. Another was repurposed for a hydroponic cannabis crop. And the building manager, 42-year-old Jaden Hati, is alleged to have been living in the subterranean hovel.

Advertisement

In addition to squatting beneath the apartment complex where he was employed, New South Wales Police claim Hati also used the space to hoard more than 250 items of private property—which he stole from the storage cages of the building’s residents—including electrical goods, sporting goods, garden equipment, and power tools. Authorities described the basement as an “Aladdin’s cave”.

After the space was forensically examined and the stolen property was removed, strike force detectives were granted an arrest warrant for Hati. Police took off in pursuit of a Holden ute in South Penrith on the afternoon of Sunday, August 18th, but lost sight of the vehicle. Shortly thereafter, officers found the vehicle unattended in Sutherland, south Sydney, and subsequently arrested Hati at a nearby pub.

Police searched his car and found ice, cannabis, drug paraphernalia, and stolen number plates. He was hit with a number of charges, including property-theft, conspiracy to cultivate cannabis for commercial purposes, and goods in personal custody suspected of being stolen, and is next due to appear in court at the end of this month.

The cave raid was conducted as part of an ongoing investigation into the supply of prohibited drugs across Sydney’s North Shore. Strike force detectives, assisted by officers from Sydney City Police Area Command, searched the space beneath the apartment complex at the end of July.

They are now in the process of returning the stolen items to their rightful owners.

Follow Gavin on Twitter or Instagram