Ex-cop turned online drug lord Thomas James Booker, 28, asks court to appeal prison sentence
A former police officer turned online drug lord, who was also caught with child exploitation material, has made a bid to reduce his prison sentence.
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A former police officer turned online drug lord who was also busted for possessing child exploitation material has told a court he’s no “Pablo Escobar,” and wants his “manifestly excessive” sentence reduced.
On Friday, convicted dark-web drug lord Thomas James Booker asked the Court of Appeal to grant him permission to appeal his “manifestly excessive” prison sentence, which would keep him imprisoned until 2037 if served fully.
In July, he was jailed for 21 years, with a non-parole period of more than 15 years, but on Friday, Booker said his offending “wasn’t as bad as it looks on paper.”
Andrew Culshaw, for Booker, told the court his client’s “ head sentence of almost 20 years” was “just too much,” and his descent into drug offending should “evoke sympathy.”
“It equates back to a starting point of something like a quarter of a century,” Mr Culshaw said.
“That’s for a man who was, and is, young. I don’t say that to make any excuses, but his descent into drug culture is one that evokes sympathy.
“He had, prior to that descent, a good and useful life providing service to the community through the police force. He has, since his apprehension, demonstrated remarkable insight and he has good prospects for rehabilitation.
He also told the court Booker would have a “low risk of reoffending upon his release.”
“There is a lot to be said for him.”
In July last year, Booker pleaded guilty to more than 50 drug trafficking and money laundering charges stemming from a dark-web drug syndicate.
He made his riches by purchasing cannabis, cocaine and the psychedelic hallucinogen psilocin wholesale, then breaking them down into smaller units for sale online.
The court then also heard Booker, who left the SA Police force in 2018, had been trafficking in large commercial amounts of LSD, and laundered more than $300,000 in cash.
He had imported 8000 tabs of LSD from the Netherlands.
On July 28 this year, Booker further pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing child exploitation material, appearing from custody in the Mount Gambier Prison.
Mr Culshaw on Friday didn’t deny that “the offending is serious,” and said the aggravated features of Booker’s crimes were their level of sophistication and ongoing nature.
“I don’t back away from that. The overall profit, in the seven figures, is eye watering.”
He argued that, although his client had pleaded guilty to over 50 counts of drug offending, the average price for the drugs in each count was about “$1000.”
“The average of all of the trafficking offences, including the large commercial quantity offences, is about $1000 per offence,” Mr Culshaw said.
“It really is not as bad as what it looks on paper.
“It avoids visions of Pablo Escobar shipping loads of cocaine around the place. This is not that, this is nothing like that scale.
“With a head sentence of close to 20 years, and a non-parole period of 15 years, we’re approaching murder territory.
“The sentence imposed was just too much.”
If he serves the full sentence, Booker would only be eligible for parole on January 22, 2037.
The court will hand down it’s decision on his application at a later date.
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