The Block host Scott Cam has said he was completely unaware a contestant on the popular renovation show was connected to an alleged Sydney drug kingpin.
It comes after The Daily Telegraph revealed one half of the team renovating House 5, Omar Slaimankhel, was in the car when alleged cocaine importer Mostafa Baluch tossed his ankle monitor last year, prompting one of Australia’s most intense manhunts in recent history.
After being driven by Slaimankhel last October, Sydney restaurateur Baluch was on the run for 16 days until he was found hiding in a Mercedes parked inside a shipping container on the back of a truck, allegedly attempting to cross the border to Queensland.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia about the former NRL player’s friendship with millionaire Baluch, Cam said: “I had no idea about this during filming at all.
“I can’t really talk about him due to what’s happened and I wasn’t aware of it.”
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A Channel 9 spokesperson went on to reveal 30-year-old tradie Slaimankhel underwent thorough background checks along with the rest of the contestants, but the car incident was not uncovered.
“All contestants undergo rigorous background checks before appearing on the show and we have no knowledge of this alleged incident,” a statement from Nine said.
Slaimankhel was never charged by NSW Police, nor is it suggested he knew of Baluch’s escape plan, with police telling The Daily Telegraph he was simply a “mate” of the 34-year-old.
Mostafa Baluch, from Sydney’s northern beaches, was arrested as part of an investigation into an alleged organised crime sting plotting to supply 900 kilograms of cocaine from Ecuador, worth an estimated $270m. He was charged with multiple offences and fitted with an ankle monitor as part of his bail conditions in June last year.
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According to the Daily Mail, Baluch and Slaimankhel know each other through a family connection, and had been out to dinner the night Baluch went on the run.
Before he was a contestant on The Block alongside best friend Oz, Slaimankhel played for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL, making five first grade appearances in 2012.
The duo surprised viewers in week one, winning the first room of the season with their chic main bathroom.
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