A former nurse’s Snapchat video from inside a Holden Commodore as it did a burnout triggered a police raid where cops allegedly found a haul of explosives.
Zarna Barbar, 26, appeared in a Frankston court on Thursday charged with a string of offences following the raid of the Cranbourne property early on Wednesday morning.
Victoria Police allege about 15kg of explosives was found at the home, along with more than 40kg of chemicals used to make explosives, more than 80 detonation devices, and a quantity of illicit drugs.
Detectives had been forwarded the Snapchat clip after the owner of the $50,000 Commodore VF took to a local Facebook group to complain his car had gone missing during the night between April 28 and 29.
A schoolfriend of Barbar’s then replied with the Snapchat video, which allegedly shows the car’s distinctive orange paintjob and Barbar holding up the same brand of NYX lip gloss that the owner’s partner had left in the door compartment.
Cops then turned up to Barbar’s townhouse and allegedly found a hoard of stolen items, drugs, ammunition and more than 100 tubes of Powergel explosive, which required the bomb squad to be called in and the street locked down for seven hours.
In the living room, cops allegedly found a JBL speaker that had been in the stolen car, a machete, bags containing white powder and a paramedic first-aid kit labelled Jenkins.
A hidden compartment in the coffee table allegedly held about 20 white tablets, bottles of a ‘viscous liquid’, ammunition, two ice pipes and jewellery. An ID card not belonging to Barbar and two Victoria Police lanyards were allegedly found upstairs.
In the garage a blue barrel with 100 tubes of Powergel explosive was allegedly found alongside a Pelican case with more Powergel and 80 detonators.
Police said they held serious concerns about the explosives as they were allegedly held in the garage of the townhouse complex near to the detonators, where there was a ‘very real potential that a spark could cause the substances to explode’.
Police allege Barbar refused to unlock two phones found at the property and that she trafficked meth and 1,4-butanediol.
Barbar runs a TikTok page which features a video she filmed with an apparent boyfriend with the caption ‘partner in crime’ and referred to herself with the hashtag ‘jail wife’.
Another video is captioned ‘good first date’ and showed her smiling by a roadside on a night out with a man, as police arrested and handcuffed him by her side.
That video, shared in 2023, has been viewed by more than five million people.
Police confirmed the raid was initially carried out as part of an investigation into the theft of cars in the Frankston area in Melbourne’s south.
‘The Bomb Response Unit was subsequently deployed to render the items safe,’ a police spokesman said.
Barbar was charged with possessing explosive substances and cartridge ammunition and the theft of a motor vehicle.
She was also charged with theft from a motor vehicle, trafficking a drug of dependence, three counts of possessing a drug of dependence, and handling stolen goods.
She was remanded in custody and will reappear in court in June.
The raid at the Cranbourne property follows a series of unconnected raids this week across the city and regional Victoria as police cracked down on the illicit drug and firearms trade.
Detectives, with the support of tactical police, executed warrants across Balwyn, California Gully, Footscray, Footscray West, Rowville, Spotswood, Sunshine North and Warburton.
Drugs worth $500,000 were seized along with multiple firearms, large quantities of illegal cigarettes and vapes, and $150,000 in cash.
Six people were charged with a total of 40 drug and firearm offences.