Dark web drug ’kingpin’ behind bars

A MAN police allege heads the Australian arm of an international ‘dark web’ drug importation syndicate and a self-confessed ‘elite hacker’ has appeared in a Sydney court after a dramatic police raid of his apartment.

AN alleged drug kingpin and “elite hacker” behind the Australian arm of a dark web drug syndicate will remain behind bars.

Dov Tenenboim, 33, was arrested on Thursday when heavily armed police swooped on his Vaucluse apartment, allegedly finding cocaine, computers, a diamond ring, $70,000 in cash and $350,000 in cryptocurrency.

“I’ve never seen such a thing. It’s so quiet here, Mr Whippy comes here,” one neighbour, who witnessed the raid, told reporters on Friday. The neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said he understood Tenenboim “worked with computers” and seemed friendly.

The man was charged with 45 counts, including importing and supplying commercial quantities of prohibited drugs and directing a criminal group.

The strike force tracked suspicious packages arriving in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.

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Court documents allege the privately schooled professional was importing commercial quantities of cocaine, ketamine and MDMA since January 2017 to various addresses around Sydney.

The alleged kingpin’s drug packages arrived in Vaucluse, Kensington, Bondi and Randwick among other suburbs.

He is charged with numerous counts of onselling the drugs in 300 gram units. His Facebook profile gives away few clues, other than his bio which consists of a strong binary code. An online tool translates the ones and zeros as “elite hacker”.

On the day he was arrested Tenenboim was allegedly found with two grams of cocaine and one gram of MDMA in his possession, documents show. Tenenboim appeared in Waverley Local Court on Friday where he flashed a quick grimace at a woman, believed to be his fiancee Lisa, as his bail was denied.

Court documents allege Tenenboim was sending drugs through the post.

The 33-year-old was refused bail in court.

The neighbour said it was “unbelievable” Tenenboim had been accused of running a drug empire from the flat.

“A million bucks is nothing,” he said, noting Tenenboim’s black BMW hadn’t aroused any suspicion on a street lined with luxury cars.

“A guy won a million dollars twice he can barely afford to buy a house around here.” Tenenboim’s lawyer told reporters his client suffered severe anxiety and described the charges as “sensational” as he left court.

He is expected before the same court again on August 8.

Tenenboim’s arrest follows an unrelated arrest in May in which a 33-year-old Bondi man was also charged with two counts of commercial quantity drug supply and indictable quantity drug supply.

That man is now before the courts.

During the investigation, police seized over half a kilogram of cocaine, over five litres of liquid MDMA, over six kilograms of MDMA (‘ecstasy’) pills, over a kilogram of ketamine, over 800 grams of MDMA rock, and over half a kilogram of methamphetamine.

The prohibited drugs have estimated potential street value over $1.5 million dollars.

Inquiries are continuing.

— with AAP