St Kilda café owner jailed over drug trafficking
A St Kilda café owner who authorities say used his hospitality business as a base for a heroin trafficking operation has been sentenced to jail, after a major organised-crime investigation.
Christopher Noti, 46, was arrested alongside his girlfriend Veronica Sabo and associate Duncan Peck as part of the Joint Organised Crime Task Force’s Operation Rhyolite in 2021. Prosecutors alleged Noti dealt drugs from his café in Robe Street, St Kilda.
In the County Court on Thursday, Noti was sentenced to three years’ jail. He is due to be released in June on a recognisance release order, with a requirement to be of good behaviour for three years.
The court heard Noti was linked to the importation of 1.8kg of heroin concealed inside a disc jockey smoke machine, which arrived in Melbourne from the United States by air on July 31, 2021. Investigators organised a controlled delivery, with an officer posing as a DHL driver delivering a carton to Noti.
Covert police then observed Peck arrive at the café, and over the following 30 minutes, 4 other people allegedly attended the premises as part of drug dealing activity, the court was told.
Noti, Sabo and Peck were also connected to a separate cocaine shipment from the US, allegedly disguised as a “Children’s Board Game” and addressed to a property in Balaclava. That consignment arrived in Melbourne via Hawaii in September 2021.
Sentencing Noti, Judge Liz Gaynor said he had struggled to maintain employment in roles including currency trading and as an NDIS support worker before purchasing the café, attributing the instability to drug relapses. The judge said his rehabilitation efforts had also been disrupted by decisions made against expert advice, as well as a pattern of blaming others and failing to take responsibility.
“Despite considerable support, you’ve been unable to properly take responsibility,” Judge Gaynor said.
Judge Gaynor warned Noti that any offending during the recognisance period could result in a return to custody.
Sabo was sentenced in December 2024 to an 18-month community corrections order. Peck was released on a recognisance release order for 5 years.
Jonathan Jackson, 10th February 2026
