A Gascoyne pastoralist accused of one of WA’s biggest cattle-rustling heists used a racist slur in a text message in which he said he couldn’t “wait to steal” more from a struggling Indigenous-owned cattle station, a court has been told.
The shocking allegation was one of many made during the State’s opening address on day one of the criminal trial of Richard Arends and his partner Rachel Third in the District Court.
The Edmund Station pair were charged by the rural crime squad in February 2021 with stealing hundreds of cattle, valued at more than $800,000, from four different stations and then selling them under the mark of their own.
News of the alleged elaborate heist, WA’s biggest ever cattle-rustling bust, sent shock waves through WA’s close-knit livestock industry.
Mr Arends, 46, has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of stealing and six of property laundering, with Ms Third, 40, doing the same in relation to six allegations of stealing and six of property laundering.
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On Tuesday, State prosecutor Chung-Wai Chu said one of the allegations against Mr Arends involved him bragging to a friend about having sold 1400 head of cattle in 2020 — 600 more than they were expected to.
Mr Chu alleged that when Mr Arends was asked how he had achieved such a feat, he joked about “getting his tax back” and mentioned taking dozens of cattle from neighbouring Maroonah and Mangaroon stations — then-owned by the Buurabalayji Thalanyji Aboriginal Corporation.
The two stations were struggling financially and mere weeks away from collapsing into administration at the time of the exchange.
Mr Arends and Ms Third are further alleged to have moved the ear tags from cattle and cut additional ear marks in each animal in an attempt to convert ownership and facilitate their sale undetected.
In a phone conversation, intercepted by police, it is alleged Mr Arends was asked if he’d ever been caught changing brands, to which he allegedly responded: “No, I don’t change brands I change earmarks.”
In another call he allegedly told a person who allegedly helped in the cattle’s transport that he could take as many from the haul as he wanted, adding “it’s not like we paid for them anyway”.
In another exchange in December 2020, Mr Arends was allegedly asked by someone whether he’d done “any poaching of the black fellas’ property this year”, to which he allegedly answered: “Yes, we did actually”.
Mr Chu alleged Mr Arends went on to tell the friend they had pinched at least $200,000 worth of cattle.
“There’s no question he was talking about Mangaroon and Maroonah,” Mr Chu told the jury.
In another phone call Mr Arends allegedly told Ms Third about a plan he and a friend had devised to “fill up” a truck with cattle that had come through the boundary fence on to their station.
Mr Chu alleged that Ms Third had asked Mr Arends who the cattle belonged to, before asking if they were “blue taggers” — a reference to cattle from Maroonah and Mangaroon stations.
When Mr Arends is said to have told her “yes”, Ms Third allegedly responded: “Nice, good s..t.”
In another phone call mentioned in court, she is alleged to have joked about going to jail.
It is also alleged that Mr Arends and Ms Third allegedly took part in five seperate thefts of Mardie Station cattle as well as feral cattle that had wandered near or on to Mardie Station from vacant Crown land.
The court was told within the livestock industry unmarked cattle, also known as feral cattle or “clean skins”, were often found on stations, and that it was common practice if the Crown does not claim ownership of the feral cattle for the cattle then to be marked and sold under the station they were found on.
On each alleged occasion between May and September 2020, Mr Arends’ mustering company RR Helicopters undertook a legitimate muster of cattle for Mardie Station — a cattle station in the Pilbara.
Following the musters, the cattle were allegedly branded as Edmund Station cattle using Ms Third’s earmarking equipment and tags.
Transport documents, allegedly falsified by Mr Arends, are then said to have been signed by Ms Third to reflect that the allegedly stolen cattle were taken from Edmund Station, not Mardie Station.
Mr Chu alleged that on four of the five occasions, the proceeds — approximately $200,000 — from the sales were paid into Ms Third’s account, with the fifth to Edmund Station directly.
Mr Arends’ barrister, former Attorney-General Christian Porter, and Ms Third’s barrister, Seamus Rafferty SC, are expected to give their opening statements on Wednesday.
The trial continues.