Erin Gold, Thomas James Booker and Ryan Suri-Tucker revealed as alleged dark web drug dealers
A dancing accountant and another man charged over a drug syndicate that used crypto to sell drugs on the dark web will stay behind bars until a bail hearing.
Police & Courts
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A man and woman allegedly “caught red-handed” for their role in a $25,000-a-day drug trafficking operation on the dark web will apply for bail at the same time next week.
Ryan Suri-Tucker, 24, appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday where he was scheduled to apply for bail.
Anthony Allen QC, for Mr Suri-Tucker, asked for the matter to be adjourned to join up with the bail application of Erin Gold, 32, charged with being part of the same operation.
He acknowledged all three accused faced serious allegations but asked for Mr Suri-Tucker to released on bail to his parents’ home.
Mr Allen said he understood the prosecution would insist both his client and Ms Gold had been “caught red-handed” by police when they raided various properties in November last year.
Magistrate Christopher Smolicz agreed to adjourn the application and ordered a home detention report, which would be ready at the same time as Ms Gold’s.
Both Mr Suri-Tucker and Ms Gold have no criminal record and are charged alongside Thomas James Booker, 27. They will appear in court again next week.
Police allege the syndicate was making $25,000 a day by selling drugs on the dark web and detectives have seized $1m cash – some hidden in a locked box at the Public Trustee’s office.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars of a cryptocurrency predominantly used for illegal transactions also has been frozen.
The cryptocurrency seizure is the largest in South Australia’s history.
Erin Gold, 32, an accountant and burlesque dancer, was arrested at her workplace – the Adelaide office of national accounting firm William Buck.
Thomas James Booker, 27, a former police officer, and Ryan Suri-Tucker, 24, were arrested at a Kings Park property, where police allege both men were sitting at a desk piled with drugs and a computer logged into the dark web in front of them.
All three were charged with multiple counts of drug trafficking and money laundering and appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court, where they were refused bail.
The trio is accused of running a dark web account under the name “Underline Cost”, trading drugs for cryptocurrency.
The syndicate came to the attention of police when a shipment of 8000 LSD tablets bound for South Australia from Luxembourg was seized in March 2021.
A phone number on the package led police to a mailbox in Marden, where police allege Mr Booker was seen dropping off and picking up numerous Australia Post parcels.
He was a police officer as recently as 2016 but is understood to have since left the force.
Police allege an undercover operative interacted with Underline Cost over the dark web and made numerous purchases of illicit substances, which later were found to be marked with Mr Booker and Mr Suri-Tucker’s fingerprints.
During a bail application for Mr Suri-Tucker, a prosecutor told Magistrate Karim Soetratma that the trio allegedly used Bitcoin and Monero to buy and sell the drugs.
“(Monero) is a privacy coin generally only used in criminality due to its difficulty in tracing,” the prosecutor said.
The court heard all three were found to have quantities of cryptocurrency in their name at the time of the arrest.
The prosecutor said that when police raided the Kings Park property last November they found Mr Booker and Mr Suri-Tucker in the middle of processing orders.
“When police attended the address they found the pair sitting at a desk together in front of a computer with an open TOR session, which is access to the dark web, open into the vendor account of Underline Costs with a list of unfilled orders,” the prosecutor said.
“There were drugs seized at that location, including a commercial quantity of LSD and trafficable quantities of cocaine, cannabis and MDMA.
“Those items were on the table in front of them. Some of them had been divided into smaller quantities ready for delivery.
“Also on the table in front of them were packages ready to be shipped in Australia Post packages.
“There was also a ledger book, which appeared to be a record of every sale including amount and tracking number.
“It appears this was all run as a business. Police estimate they were turning over about $25,000 a day.”
Further raids uncovered $350,000 in cash at Mr Booker and Ms Gold’s home and a further $460,000 in a locked box at the Australian Executor Trustee’s office in Mr Booker’s name.
Police froze $900,000 worth of cryptocurrency as part of the investigation.
Mr Soetratma indicated he would refuse bail and adjourned the case until Mr Suri-Tucker’s barrister, Anthony Allen QC, could be in court to make further submissions on his client’s behalf.
During a separate bail application for Ms Gold, Magistrate Brett Dixon heard submissions that she had placed a misguided trust in her partner, Mr Booker.
“The involvement of Ms Gold is in effect because of her association with her partner, one of the co-accused,” Ms Gold’s lawyer said.
“She was not at that location when the arrest occurred. Ms Gold was arrested at her workplace where she was undergoing full-time employment.
“In my submission, her connection to Mr Booker is the basis for her being charged.”
Mr Dixon adjourned the bail application until January, while a home detention report was prepared.
A William Buck Adelaide spokeswoman confirmed police had attended its office in Victoria Square.
“William Buck Adelaide assisted police who attended our office on November 22 in relation to this individual who has been stood down,” the spokeswoman said.
“We have been informed that the alleged activities have no connection with the firm.”
Court documents released by the Supreme Court show police have moved to freeze a city apartment, which was purchased by Mr Booker and Ms Gold in March 2021 for $500,000.
The application also included a move to freeze an Athol Park property worth about $500,000 and held in Ms Gold’s name.
A 2020 red Ducati sport motorbike was also listed on the application.
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