Well-to-do coke users nervous as police probe dealers’ black books
Sydney’s well-heeled cocaine users are feeling the heat, as investigators begin probing the black books of alleged dealers to the city’s elite, writes Crime Editor Mark Morri.
NSW
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THERE are multiple police investigations going on all over Sydney into the cocaine trade with separate inquiries involving a TV celebrity and another, a former international sports star.
One has allegedly been caught on CCTV buying cocaine from a dealer but police are yet to lay charges looking for bigger fish up the chain.
The other is under the microscope for his part in a bigger and wider group importing and supplying large amounts of coke to Sydney dealers.
A former test cricketer was also lucky to escape a drug dragnet a few years ago when he came to attention as a small-time dealer to well-to-do Sydneysiders.
It’s surprising in a city like Sydney more high profile dealers and customers haven’t come undone.
“It seems we are seeing people without a traditional criminal pedigree being involved in the drug trade, especially in the eastern suburbs and in the Shire — particularly with the distribution of cocaine,” a NSW investigator said.
“The money and the demand seems insatiable. For a lot of people, especially relatively young ones wanting to live a flash life, the temptation is too much, just ask Richard Buttrose,” he said.
Buttrose, the nephew of media icon Ita Buttrose served nearly nine years after being caught dealing drugs to Sydney's rich and famous.
It was rumoured his little black book of clients contained the names of socialites as well as a couple of politicians.
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Modern day black books — the phone records of those linked to drug dealers caught — are a gold mine to investigators.
Whenever drug busts are made, metadata from their phones and computers are now being trawled by intelligence officers from a number of law enforcement agencies.
“I think there are some nervous high-profile people sitting in expensive restaurants a little bit worried,” said the investigator.
Meanwhile, the more professional drug supplier like bikies and the usual organised crime figures are bringing in container loads of powder.
One underworld figure said this week he estimates up to 10kg of coke is being consumed every seven days in the eastern suburbs.
“That doesn't include the city or the rest of Sydney like the Shire and the northern beaches which have a fondness for coke,” he said.
A number of NSW cops said the figure doesn't surprise them.
”Could even be higher, who knows,” said a NSW cop.