Three of the men facing life sentences over a $1.5 billion drug bust have worked for Savas Guven, the armed robber turned millionaire chief executive.
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At least two of them were working for his construction services company at the time of the 2014 record haul. Another, on bail, resigned just a week ago.
Fairfax Media revealed two weeks ago Guven was jailed for committing an armed robbery in 2000 under the name Savas Yucel, having threatened to stab staff in an electronics store. The 37-year-old, who has drawn attention with his ambitious Mosman renovation and illegal land clearing, faces intimidation and assault charges over a confrontation in July.
Akuila Bisasa, Jason Drollet and Josh Hamlin were among seven men arrested in 2014 after allegedly trying to pick up two tonnes of ecstasy and nearly a tonne of ice from a shipping container in Smithfield, Sydney.
When police struck over the drug shipment, Mr Bisasa and Mr Drollet were both working in senior roles for Guven's group of scaffolding and on-site engineering companies, AllRound Access.
In an email on Friday, Guven confirmed the three had worked for him.
Mr Bisasa, 36, also charged with dealing with the proceeds of crime, had worked as the group's "Safety and Quality Manager" since 2012, according to his LinkedIn profile. Mr Guven praised his former workplace health and safety officer as "the best we have had to date". Mr Bisasa's "employment was stopped after his ordeal with the law".
Mr Drollet, 36, who remains on bail, had listed himself as a leading hand on AllRound Access sites. Guven said he "was employed as a ticketed scaffolder" who resigned to "try something else".
Mr Hamlin, a scaffolder also on bail, "resigned last Friday", Guven said.
Police arrested the men in 3am raids on November 29, 2014, weeks after authorities discovered a Sydney-bound shipping container full of furniture and drugs at Hamburg port in Germany.
Police secretly replaced what was then Australia's largest ice haul and second largest ecstasy seizure, allowing a "controlled delivery" to Sydney and then waiting for the contents to be collected at a Smithfield factory.
Mr Bisasa, Mr Drollet, Mr Hamlin as well as Mehmet Ozgen, Solomone Vukici, and Rene Arancibia were charged with attempting to access a commercial supply of illegal drugs. Another man, Philip Ian Bishop, was later arrested over the same shipment.
The seizure came after a months-long investigation by NSW Police, the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Crime Commission, Interpol and German authorities.
"You can't import nearly three tonnes of narcotics in this country without a large and sophisticated operation," AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin said. NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione described it as "organised crime at its worst".
Court documents noted the alleged offence was at the high end of the scale and showed a high degree of planning.
Mr Bisasa, Mr Drollet, Mr Hamlin and their alleged co-conspirators are due to face court for a committal hearing next year.
There is no suggestion Guven knew of the trio's alleged criminal activity prior to their arrests.
Asked when he became aware of the charges, Guven said: "I became aware of this the day after as I was contacted by one of my staff asking me if I had seen the media release re Akuila."
Fairfax Media revealed on Saturday that Guven has built a property empire worth more than $16 million since leaving jail in 2002, much of it in the name of his wife.
In August, he successfully appealed Bayside Council's decision to reject his plans for an $11 million development of 28 units and a supermarket on Botany Road.
The Guvens are also appealing Mosman Council's decision to reject plans for a $2.5 million renovation of their $5 million home overlooking Cobblers Bay Beach. Their partial demolition of the site drew the ire of neighbours, who complained the roofless home had become a source of dust and a home for vermin.
Illegal land-clearing by Guven on an industrial site at Mars Road in Lane Cove West has Lane Cove Council considering legal action.
Guven was involved in an alleged incident of "parking rage" this year and charged with intimidation and assault, to which he has pleaded not guilty. He is due to appear before Parramatta Local Court on March 23 next year.
