"Its Definitely About Me": Woronora Heights Uni Student Convinced PolAir Chopper is Targetting His Backyard 'Botany Project'.

Riley Corbett | Crimes Reporter | Sutherland Shire Gazette

12 May 2025

WORONORA HEIGHTS - A local uni student house-sitting for his Europe-bound parents has spent the weekend in a state of mild paranoia, convinced the PolAir police helicopter circling over Engadine, Heathcote, and the Royal National Park is “absolutely 100% onto him.”

The 21-year-old environmental science major - who asked to be identified only as “Jay” - has been anonymously trawling local Facebook community groups in a frantic bid to confirm his suspicions. “Anyone else notice the chopper over the Nasho last night? Asking for a mate,” read one of several nearly identical posts made under the name “W\.H. Concerned Citizen.”

“I’ve done nothing illegal,” Jay insisted, while delicately misting what appears to be a thriving collection of hydroponic greenery behind his dad’s shed. “It’s just a personal grow. Medicinal-adjacent. Eco-positive.”

One local mum on the Engadine Mums & Bubs page claimed the chopper was just doing joy flights for Mother’s Day - a theory Jay is not buying. “Yeah right. Nothing says ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ like a low-altitude surveillance lap over my shed.”

Jay’s parents are currently cycling through Bordeaux and have no idea their backyard has become what he calls a “micro-agricultural experiment in urban resilience.”

Still convinced he’s about to be raided, Jay has turned off the Ring camera, deleted his Reddit history, and begun drafting a formal apology to Gardening Australia “just in case.”

The Gazette can confirm that the helicopter was assisting with a bushwalker search near Waterfall - but Jay remains unconvinced. “That’s exactly what they’d say if they were hunting backyard horticulturists,” he said, before whispering at his oregano, “Stay strong, boys.”

We’ll provide updates if the thyme ever runs out.

PolAir Chopper