The Sydney Morning Herald
· collected 2026-10-08 · by Nick McKenzie, Angus Delaney
A company called Heavy Hire, founded by Timothy Fletcher—an accused cocaine trafficker with ties to Melbourne’s gangland scene—is a subcontractor on key Big Build projects in Victoria. Fletcher previously shot a man and is connected to multiple criminal enterprises. The Age reports that major contractors did not conduct proper due diligence despite public records revealing Fletcher's background and financial issues, raising questions about Premier Ben Carroll’s claims of cleaning up the program. Heavy Hire was informed it would be removed from some government sites after inquiries were made by The Age, but industry sources suggest underworld-linked firms are simply replacing each other in a cycle of involvement with Big Build projects.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In late 2023, it was revealed that Heavy Hire, a company founded and controlled by an accused cocaine trafficker who previously shot a man, is a subcontractor on key Big Build infrastructure projects in Victoria. The total value of the Big Build program stands at approximately $109 billion. This development raises serious questions about Premier Ben Carroll’s claims to be effectively cleaning up construction industry corruption after his predecessor's failure to do so.
Following exposure by The Age, major contractors and agencies involved in the Big Build scrambled to address concerns regarding Heavy Hire’s involvement without proper due diligence checks despite the company's known underworld connections. In a bid to mitigate the scandal, it was announced that Heavy Hire would be removed from some state government construction sites.
The revelation also brought attention to allegations that firms removed from Big Build projects after Labor and VIDA attempted to clean up the program have been replaced by other underworld-linked companies, suggesting ongoing issues with corruption within the industry. Premier Carroll insisted his government is actively pursuing "unsavoury characters" involved in major projects but did not provide specific details about legal actions or measures taken beyond reassurances of future follow-up with law enforcement agencies.
Written for “Cocaine Trafficker Trial” on 2026-10-08,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
A company founded and controlled by an accused cocaine trafficker, and who previously shot a man, is a subcontractor on key Big Build projects, raising doubts about Premier Ben Carroll’s claim that he is capable of the clean-up his predecessor failed to deliver.
uncertain
predecessor → found → up
Major Big Build contractors and agencies scrambled this week to respond to questions raised by The Age on Tuesday about whether they had performed any due diligence before engaging equipment firm Heavy Hire on the North East Link and a widening of the M80.
asserted
they → scramble → M80
Heavy Hire’s engagement on the government’s signature $109 billion Big Build program should have triggered multiple and obvious red flags given its easily discoverable underworld links, but these were either ignored or never discovered.
asserted
these → trigger → links
In an apparent effort to defuse the scandal, Heavy Hire was told on Wednesday it would be removed from some state government sites.
asserted
it → defuse → sites
The Age has also discovered that since Labor and the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Agency (VIDA) moved to clean up the Big Build following months of revelations of underworld infiltration, gangland-linked firms removed from projects have allegedly been replaced by other underworld-linked firms.
uncertain
firms → discover → firms
Over the last six months, Heavy Hire itself filled the void left by a firm major contractors removed because it had underworld figure Mick Gatto on its payroll.
asserted
it → fill → payroll
“It’s a merry-go-round and nothing is really changing,” an industry source aware of Heavy Hire’s operations claimed.
asserted
source → ’ → operations
On Wednesday morning, members of Victoria Police’s specialist Taskforce Hawk, accompanied by heavily armed police, raided the premises of Heavy Hire’s founder Timothy Fletcher over suspected drug and other alleged criminal offending.
asserted
members → accompany → offending
He was not charged with any offending.
asserted
He → charge → offending
Fletcher is a hulking and tattoo-covered underworld figure with connections across Melbourne’s gangland scene.
asserted
Fletcher → cover → scene
Until Wednesday, after inquiries from The Age, Heavy Hire was supplying multiple diggers on key road projects, having previously provided other Big Build sites with heavy machinery.
asserted
Hire → supply → machinery
A search of public corporate records reveals the company was founded by Fletcher, an ex-member of the Mongols bikie gang.
asserted
company → reveal → gang
The Heavy Hire Instagram page previously displayed a photo of Fletcher in his bikie gang gear.
asserted
page → display → gear
Publicly available court records reveal that Fletcher was charged in April 2024 with cocaine trafficking “in a quantity that is not less than a commercial quantity applicable to that drug.”
asserted
that → reveal → drug
He is scheduled to face a committal hearing to examine if the charges will proceed to trial.
asserted
charges → schedule → trial
Corporate records, that should have been unearthed during basic due diligence, reveal an April 2026 report by liquidator Romanis Cant stating another earthworks firm run by Fletcher, Khan Earthworks, had “been insolvent from around May 2022” after it failed to pay a $564,298 tax debt.
uncertain
it → unearth → debt
“The company does not appear to have historically made any payments towards its tax debts and relied only on GST and fuel tax credit offsets in order to partially reduce the liability,” liquidator Manuel Hanna wrote in his April report.
asserted
Hanna → appear → report
The collapse of Fletcher’s Khan Earthworks owing more than half a million dollars to the Australian Taxation Office and the fact that he is still overseeing Heavy Hire — a company engaging in earthworks on the Big Build and with corporate links to Heavy Hire — is another red flag that could have been noted by the government contractors that engaged Heavy Hire.
VIDA and its contracting partners could also have accessed public records showing that in 2012, Fletcher shot a man in the leg over an alleged underworld dispute.
Fletcher did not respond to efforts to contact him and Heavy Hire’s operations manager, a former Finks bikie gang member turned reformed Christian, declined to comment.
uncertain
manager → owe → him
In a statement, a VIDA spokesperson said it “has clear standards of integrity on projects”.
asserted
it → say → projects
“VIDA will continue to cooperate with the Royal Commission and support its inquiry into integrity on construction sites.”
asserted
VIDA → continue → sites
But the agency that oversees the Big Build did not explain why a company with such obvious underworld links was operating on taxpayer-funded projects as recently as this week after Carroll’s public commitment to clean up the taxpayer-funded infrastructure scheme.
asserted
company → oversee → scheme
Carroll on Thursday said Fletcher’s presence on the Big Build would be “followed up” with law enforcement agencies and insisted his government was going after “unsavoury characters” in the industry.
“There is responsibility for everyone when it comes to the procurement and employment of people on major projects, including the contractors, this will be a matter that we followed up with law enforcement,” he said.
asserted
he → say → enforcement
“Naturally, government does have a responsibility, and this needs to be followed up.”
asserted
this → have → responsibility
Since last November, Heavy Hire has been directed by a very close relative and business associate of Fletcher who shares his residential address.
asserted
who → direct → address
A source close to Fletcher insisted he had ditched his gangland ties and was also a reformed Christian trying to get on with his life.
asserted
he → insist → life
Seymour Whyte, lead contractor on an Eastern Freeway project where Fletcher’s equipment was used, did not respond to questions by deadline.
asserted
equipment → use → deadline
Acciona, in a statement, said it took compliance seriously and had strict requirements for subcontractors and suppliers.
asserted
it → say → subcontractors
The Aporia
