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How Rivica's covert surveillance helped expose one of Victoria's worst illegal dumping operations
Nillumbik Shire Council engaged our investigators to tail tipper trucks and document a father-and-son dumping enterprise now facing an $8 million clean-up bill
Over several days in August and September 2025, Nillumbik Shire Council engaged Rivica Investigations and Covert Solutions to covertly document an illegal industrial waste operation run by Joseph Chetcuti and his son Jayden at their Diamond Creek property on Melbourne’s edge. Our agents tailed tipper trucks collecting fill from construction sites across the city’s north-east and captured footage of dozens of heavy haulage trucks dumping building rubble, soil and liquid waste, some of it asbestos-laced, onto the land. The evidence underpinned a council investigation that led to VCAT enforcement orders and a Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court hearing, where Joseph Chetcuti pleaded guilty to multiple breaches of the Environment Protection Act and now faces fines of nearly $500,000. The clean-up bill for the site is estimated at up to $8 million, with the property’s value collapsing from around $2 million to offers as low as $25,000. Chetcuti is due to be sentenced on 21/07/2026.
Also featured in SMH - The Sydney Morning Herald:
Diamond Creek dumping sites exposed
Surveillance footage compiled for Nillumbik Shire Council documented large-scale dumping of industrial waste in Melbourne’s north-east.
A Current Affair has broadcast a national investigation into a toxic illegal dumping operation at a Victorian property. RIVICA Investigations & Covert Solutions conducted covert surveillance and evidence gathering connected to this matter, involving discreet deployments, vehicle identification, timestamped documentation, and reporting prepared to court-defensible standards
Professional investigations demand patience, continuity of evidence, and a methodology that holds up under regulatory and legal scrutiny. This outcome reflects exactly that standard.
RIVICA provides discreet investigative services for businesses, legal firms, and private clients across Australia. Surveillance. Compliance investigations. Court-admissible evidence.
Rivica's surveillance evidence takes centre stage in landmark VCAT planning fight
A Middle Park residents’ group engaged Richard James of RIVICA to gather covert audiovisual evidence at comparable venues, in what may be a first for Victorian tribunal hearings
A Middle Park community group, Preserving Middle Park Village, engaged Rivica’s Richard James to collect covert video and audio evidence at pubs owned by Australian Venue Co, as part of their VCAT campaign to block a proposed rooftop bar at the 134-year-old Middle Park Hotel. James conducted surveillance across venues in Richmond, Abbotsford and Fitzroy on a Friday night between 9pm and midnight, capturing footage of patron age, noise levels (using a decibel reader), music and table set-up to counter the operator’s claim that the venue would be a family-friendly, food-led concept. The residents, who raised $200,000 to fund their objection, used the footage to argue the rooftop would instead become a boozy, noisy venue. James noted this may be the first time audiovisual evidence has been used in this way at the tribunal, and the hearing was significant enough to be extended beyond its scheduled four days. Note this article is from 03/12/2023, so it’s an older asset, but the novelty angle still makes it a strong credibility piece.
117 Site Visits
Observed four locations 117 times across 12 weeks.
Evidence Report
Detailed findings submitted within 1,000 pages of evidence.
Surveillance Findings
No minors observed consuming or carrying alcohol.
Rivica's covert surveillance underpins a major liquor licensing fight
RIVICA Investigations & Covert Solutions was engaged through international law firm King & Wood Mallesons, acting for liquor giant Endeavour Group, to conduct discreet surveillance in Daylesford as part of Endeavour’s VCAT bid to overturn a refused Dan Murphy’s licence. Principal investigator Richard James and senior investigator Geoff Fagan studied four sites, including Vincent Street, Lake Daylesford, the skate park and Cornish Hill, observing each 117 times between 5.30pm and 10.30pm over 12 weeks and reporting weekly to the firm. Their detailed report, part of around 1,000 pages of evidence submitted during a three-week hearing, concluded that no minors were seen with or consuming alcohol, with only occasional discarded containers suggesting limited consumption outside observation periods. The original licence had been refused in August 2024 after 240 objections, in the first use of the new “harm” definition under the Liquor Control Reform Act, and a decision on the appeal was still pending. The article is dated 26/08/2025.
RIVICA Investigations & Covert Solutions was engaged through international law firm King & Wood Mallesons, acting for liquor giant Endeavour Group, to conduct discreet surveillance in Daylesford as part of Endeavour’s VCAT bid to overturn a refused Dan Murphy’s licence. Principal investigator Richard James and senior investigator Geoff Fagan studied four sites, including Vincent Street, Lake Daylesford, the skate park and Cornish Hill, observing each 117 times between 5.30pm and 10.30pm over 12 weeks and reporting weekly to the firm. Their detailed report, part of around 1,000 pages of evidence submitted during a three-week hearing, concluded that no minors were seen with or consuming alcohol, with only occasional discarded containers suggesting limited consumption outside observation periods. The original licence had been refused in August 2024 after 240 objections, in the first use of the new “harm” definition under the Liquor Control Reform Act, and a decision on the appeal was still pending. The article is dated 26/08/2025.
Richard takes the stage on surveillance and intelligence-led investigation
An invited keynote at the AISP’s final 2025 meeting positions Rivica’s founder as a voice on modern, ethical investigative practice
Locate work that ends in a reunion: blind Melbourne man gets his guide companion back
Melbourne man Matt Toogood, who lost his sight at 21 following surgery for a childhood brain tumour, was separated from his cavoodle Sam for seven months after the dog was placed with another family while Matt was hospitalised with a broken ankle. When that family refused to return Sam, despite his microchip being registered to Matt, and threatened costly, drawn-out legal action, Matt’s sister Lisa turned to a pet detective who tracked the dog down and negotiated his release. A private investigator named Richard of RIVICA went into the family’s home, recovered Sam after about 15 minutes of negotiation, had the vet confirm the microchip, and reunited the delighted dog with Matt.
Featured on Melbourne's 101.9 Fox FM
RICHARD JAMES – FOUNDER, RIVICA
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