Bruno and Nuno Da Silva are former members of the notorious biker gang Hell’s Angels, but that’s not why authorities came after the biker brothers from Brisbane, Australia. According to the local news source TheGuardian.com, the two brothers were using their locksmith shop as a front for a lucrative methylamphetamine trafficking operation.
The brother’s locksmith shop, Millennium Locks, was operating as a legit supplier of different types of keys, commercial door locks, and other standard functions of a locksmith, according to Crown prosecutor Glen Cash.
“There wasn’t evidence that these men were buying Ferraris or helicopters or extravagant items like that,” Cash said. “They certainly seemed to be living fairly comfortably.”
There were 1.9 million burglaries in the United States in 2013, resulting in $4.5 billion in property loss, according to the latest FBI statistics. Of these burglaries, about 59% were the result of a forced entry, which means keys duplicated for commercial use falling into the wrong hands was not the problem. Either there was an error while installing a door or the criminals just broke the lock.
The head of the operation, Bruno, was given a longer sentence (9 years) than Nuno (7 years with the possibility of parole in just a few weeks). This sentencing comes after over two years of legal proceedings as the brothers were arrested in October of 2013 after investigators caught on to the locksmith charade.
About 63% of residential burglaries take place during the day, which probably contributed to the brothers legitimate business success, but the money they were making can’t compare to their ice job. They reportedly sold ounces of meth for $11,500 and $1,250 for 3.5 grams (known as an eight ball).
Having locks that work properly is an important element to any home, just make sure the locksmith you’re going to isn’t running anything that can get them locked up ot of it too.