Peter Poulakis: Canberra cafe owner jailed on MDMA importing charges
A Canberra cafe owner says he ‘didn’t realise’ laundering money, which was part of a plan to import more than 2kg of MDMA, was a big deal. But now he has been jailed.
Canberra Star
Don't miss out on the headlines from Canberra Star. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Bikie boss found guilty on gun charge after naked shootout
- Star athlete behind bars on harrowing domestic violence allegations
- Terror probe over Canberra student’s ‘radical’ school essay
A Canberra coffee cart owner who suffers from a short attention span and difficulty concentrating got in over his head when he decided to become the money launderer for a group of mates keen on getting involved in the international drug trade.
Peter Poulakis, 30, was on Friday jailed for five years and nine months.
He had earlier pleaded guilty to breaching anti-money laundering laws, drug importation, drug trafficking and firearms charges.
Poulakis, of Wright in the ACT, owns three bustling coffee carts around Canberra and told the court in a letter didn’t appreciate the seriousness of taking part in the importing of more than 2kg of pure MDMA.
Poulakis’s involvement was in line with the prison inmate who masterminded the scheme, Emin Yavuz.
Poulakis’s former partner, Jacinta Greenwood, told the court her ex’s crimes came as a “big shock” and were upsetting.
Another mate, Simon Davies, told the court Poulakis was a good boss who had loyal employees at his cafes.
The courts have previously heard the harebrained scheme to import paint tins full of drugs came unstuck when a series of recorded phone calls to Yavuz in prison saw the syndicate members talking in code about their German supplier, “Mr Sock”.
Poulakis said in a phone call to Yavuz: “My mate Sock, he was sending me some – some
information on this … thing here.”
“It was – it was interesting. It just made more sense in regards to the work he does. Like the painting and sh*t”.
Poulakis’s main role in the syndicate was buying Bitcoin with money supplied by Lamborghini driving Canberra builder Youssef Jabal.
Authorities dropped charges against Jabal relating to the drug syndicate, but is serving an intensive corrections order for being knowingly involved in cocaine trafficking.
On Friday, Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson told Poulakis he had proven he could be a successful businessman “through legal means, not illegal means”.
“You must go to jail, that’s inevitable because of the seriousness of the offending,” she said.
“The offences you committed are serious and you know that, the court knows that, and your family and friends, who you are fortunate to have, know that.”
Poulakis was motivated by financial greed, and it appeared the syndicate was looking to import larger amounts of the drug, Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson said.
Poulakis will be eligible for parole in August 2023.
Yavuz is set to be sentenced on Monday.
The final syndicate member, Bilal Omari, will be sentenced in November.
