Marketing guru Tess Rowlatt accused of running drug smuggling operation through Airbnb in Melbourne

A glamorous marketing grad accused of using multiple Airbnb properties to traffic commercial quantities of illegal drugs in a ‘sophisticated’ operation will go to a jury trial to contest the charges.

Tess Rowlatt, 32, is said to have flipped between 16 Airbnb rentals in Melbourne, including the posh Upper West Side CBD apartments and the View Hotel St Kilda to do drugs deals.

She faces more than a decade behind bars if convicted of the most serious of the drug trafficking charges against her.

In a minor victory, Crown prosecutors on Monday withdrew more than 40 of his more than 100 charges.

Rowlatt, who appeared in court at the Dame Phyllis Frost Center via video link, pleaded not guilty for the others, clearing the way for a jury trial in Victoria County Court.

Dressed in white and wearing glasses, Rowlatt looked like a glamorous marketing executive despite being caged behind bars.

Rowlatt faces a series of charges, including trafficking a commercial amount of drugs and obtaining property by deception.

She appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in December charged with trafficking methamphetamine and 1,4-butenediol – also known as liquid fantasy – as well as several one-ounce bagged drug deals at Airbnbs between July 23 and October 21 of last year.

The court heard that she would stay in the rented apartments for periods ranging from one night to a few days.

Rowlatt is also accused of selling methamphetamine, GHB and heroin since January 2021.

On her social media, Rowlett says she earned a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in marketing from Monash University before working in sales roles at several companies.

At the time, magistrate Jelena Popovic said the alleged offense did not appear to have been committed to fuel a drug addiction.

“The business approach of the whole business is extremely concerning… This was an absolute lucrative business the likes of which I have rarely seen,” Ms Popovic said, according to The Sun Herald.

Drug Squad detectives raided Rowlatt’s Upper West Side apartment on October 21 after she allegedly engineered a deal between her supplier and a buyer.

Senior Drug Squad Detective Scott Davies told the court she checked the buyer for $15,000, then left the room and came back with drugs.

After her arrest, she was denied bail at a hearing in November with police saying there was evidence she would act to collect and pay the alleged drug debts if she was released.

While she was later released on bail and placed in the care of a rehabilitation clinic, she soon found herself behind bars, where she remains.

Senior Detective Constable Davies also alleged that the Airbnbs were booked with fake IDs and essential work permits and that his digital devices showed evidence of multiple drug transactions, including one worth $34,000.

Several payment apps have also been used as “chequebooks” to track the racketeering, he claimed.

Police prosecutor Thomas Mills said at the time he was still adding up the amounts and the investigation was ongoing, but there appeared to be more than $203,000 in transactions.

In a slap in the face of open justice, court documents outlining the case against Rowlatt were thrown out by the magistrate.

In January, Rowlatt’s attorney said his client was mourning the death of her partner when some of the alleged offenses occurred.

“The difficulty with that is that she is [allegedly] engaged in sophisticated high-level deception and trafficking…probably the most sophisticated drug dealing I have come across,” Ms. Popovic replied.

She will appear in Victoria County Court next month.