A "popular" Canberra cafe owner who helped orchestrate an international drug ring will spend at least three years behind bars.
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The ACT Supreme Court on Friday heard Peter Poulakis' business will likely suffer for it.
In references read aloud to the court, his friends said the otherwise "personable, honest and very hard-working" businessman had already had his reputation damaged with news of drugs charges.
The charges - trafficking the stimulant drug dibutylone and importing more than two kilograms of MDMA - arose after police seized two international consignments bound for the Australian National University. One was labelled "paint", while the other claimed to contain "camping pans".
One package was intercepted by Australian Border Force officers at Sydney customs in November 2017. Inside was more than 1.7 kilograms of MDMA, while the other package was later picked up at a DHL facility in Fyshwick.
On Friday, Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson said Poulakis worked with Alexander Maconochie Centre prisoner Emin Oguz Yavuz and organised to buy the drugs from an overseas man known as "Mr Sock".
She said Poulakis converted money provided by Canberra builder Youssef Jabal into Bitcoin to pay for the consignments. Jabal is not charged with any offences relating to the MDMA importation, but was sentenced in August for being knowingly concerned with his cousin Bilal Badr-Eddeen Omari's "disorganised" cocaine trafficking operation.
Omari will be sentenced for trafficking cocaine and his role in the MDMA syndicate in November.
Justice Loukas-Karlsson said prosecutors viewed Poulakis and Yavuz as "two sides of the same coin" or "one mind and one body", given Yavuz was locked up when the consignments were ordered.
But she said Yavuz had played a bigger role than Poulakis in the drug ring - essentially, acting as its director despite the fact he was in jail. Yavuz will be sentenced for his role in the syndicate on Monday afternoon.
Justice Loukas-Karlsson said it was clear Poulakis' offending was motivated by "financial greed", and, at the time, he didn't appreciate the seriousness of his crimes.
He agreed with that assertion in a letter to the judge, saying: "I now understand how the [supply chain] of drugs goes well beyond the people using them."
Poulakis said he saw the effects drugs had on people while he was in jail on remand.
In the references, his friends and family attested that he'd turned his life around since committing the crimes. His lawyers previously told the court he'd spent most of his life being a hard-working and productive member of society.
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Justice Loukas-Karlsson said Poulakis had proven he could be "a successful businessman through legal means, not illegal means". She said it was a shame that he would have to serve a period of full-time imprisonment, given the severity of the importation charge.
Justice Loukas-Karlsson sentenced Poulakis to a total of six years in jail. He will be eligible for parole on August 18, 2023.
Cassandra Morgan
It has never been more important for Canberrans to be able to access reliable and accurate information about health. As The Canberra Times’ health reporter, I am committed to ensuring our readers have access to this. I, like many in the territory, have family members who work in the sector. Although providing comprehensive coverage on the coronavirus pandemic is obviously my number one priority, I aim to frequently shed light on the fantastic work our frontline professionals do, as well as the challenges they face. Email me tips and story ideas at: c.morgan@canberratimes.com.au.
It has never been more important for Canberrans to be able to access reliable and accurate information about health. As The Canberra Times’ health reporter, I am committed to ensuring our readers have access to this. I, like many in the territory, have family members who work in the sector. Although providing comprehensive coverage on the coronavirus pandemic is obviously my number one priority, I aim to frequently shed light on the fantastic work our frontline professionals do, as well as the challenges they face. Email me tips and story ideas at: c.morgan@canberratimes.com.au.
