(PSA/article) title: Defendant in Tasmania's 'Biggest Drugs Bust' Paid with Bitcoin

I guess for small nation-states their biggest drug deals are now done through DNMs. Do you agree or disagree? Goddamn Australia is a hard nut to crack.

A southern Tasmanian man has pleaded guilty to trafficking a controlled substance, following what the police have called the biggest drugs bust in the state's history.

Nicholas Mark Stebbins trafficked drugs including amphetamines, MDMA and cocaine with an estimated street value of $11m between August 2012 and July 2014 - and paid for them with bitcoin.

Hobart's Supreme Court heard that Stebbins helped arrange and pay for seven parcels filled with drugs to be posted to Tasmania from overseas.

Crown prosecutor Darryl Coates said that the parcels, which were intercepted in Tasmania, Western Australia and Victoria, collectively contained more than 2kg of amphetamine and about $500,000-worth of MDMA.

Defence lawyers told the court that while Stebbins was part of a group that imported drugs, he was "certainly not the head" of the operation.

Stebbins is currently in custody and is awaiting sentencing next month.

The bust was part of a bigger police operation involving Tasmania Police, the Australian Federal Police and Australian Custom officers.


Comments


[13 Points] None:

[deleted]


[2 Points] Therealfed1:

what the fuck is up with australia yo. fucking god damn kanguroos


[5 Points] friendofstranger:

The Tasmanian devil made me do it


[3 Points] None:

[deleted]


[2 Points] None:

How do you get 11 mil in bitcoin?


[2 Points] deepdot:

Link to the story:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-25/ex-bikie-nicholas-stebbins-guilty-drug-trafficking-tasmania/6261628


[2 Points] DNMd:

Apparently they don't get big busts in Australia. The last "biggest bust" was that guy that ran a home steroid lab


[2 Points] drugpigthrowaway:

y'all motherfuckers need some FACTS

Australia has the highest per capita consumption of MDMA in the world and is in the top 5 for cocaine. Because of our small population, the actual figures aren't all that impressive, but plenty of drugs get through. They're just really expensive.

to /u/DMNd No mate, we never get any big busts, and that guy cooking steroids in his kitchen was our version of Pablo Escobar. Fucking hell dude-

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-29/six-charged-over-enormous-15b-drug-bust/5927904


[1 Points] al_eberia:

Do you have a link to the story?


[1 Points] None:

I don't even do meth but if I ever moved to Australia for some reason I would probably end up breaking bad because of the outrageous prices and profit margins. I'm sure there are some cooks/chemists making bank.


[1 Points] gwern:

Very interesting that they're using bitcoins for payment, even if they're not using the black-markets (no one sells 2.8 tonnes of MDMA & metamphetamine on Agora or Evolution); makes me wonder how they're converting back into fiat at the other end.