Pig Latin texts uncover woman’s role drug supply

A text message conversation using pig Latin slang lead police to young Albion Park mum Codi Burke, who was involved in the supply drugs allegedly sold out of Illawarra hotel rooms.

Codi Therese Burke.

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A young Illawarra mum has escaped a full-time jail sentence after text messages using pig Latin slang revealed she had been involved in the supply of drugs allegedly sold out of Illawarra hotel rooms.

Wollongong Local Court heard on Tuesday in October 2018 police from the Wollongong Drug Unit initiated Strike Force Aperta to monitor the supply of drugs across the region, and began monitoring Robert Losco, who was alleged to have set up a methamphetamine and GHB supply shop in hotels across the region.

While monitoring Losco, police identified him as the main supplier, but alleged he would get other people — including Albion Park’s Codi Burke, 29 — to do some of his dirty work, like booking hotel rooms for him.

Burke was charged with supply small quantity of a prohibited drug in January after a text message chain revealed in early January she had supplied Losco with 52 Buprenorphine strips.

The court heard in the texts, Burke told Losco to pay her $780 to her, and she would get “the things” for him.

Police facts revealed that Losco then told the young mum he would get “Pete” to drop the money to her.

Police allege “Pete” is Peter Ryan who Losco allegedly utilised to conduct drug and money drop offs.

Codi Therese Burke was sentenced at Wollongong Local Court on September 17.

On January 7, Losco messaged Burke asking how she went getting hold of the “ipstrays”, a pig Latin term that plainly means “strips”.

On January 9, Burke was arrested with Losco and Ryan and her mobile phone was seized. After finding the “ipstrays” conversation, police conducted a search on Losco’s Fairy Meadow home, finding the 52 Buprenorphine strips.

On January 29, Burke was again arrested and taken to Wollongong Police Station, where she admitted to organising and supplying the drug strips to Losco.

A few days later, police received confirmation that fingerprints belonging to Burke had been found on IMDB cheques at Austinmer’s Headlands Hotel, where Losco and Ryan were first arrested.

Text messages from her initial arrest in January revealed another man asked her whether she wanted to “but two or three $1000 cheques for $500.”

Burke agreed and told the man she was “keen”, but only if they were “100 per cent legit” and she could “get money from em”.

Inquires later revealed the cheque book was stolen and a number of the cheque had been cashed.

Burke was granted strict conditional bail after being charged with drug supply and deal with proceeds of crime earlier this year, but her bail was revoked on July 24 after she was charged with larceny and be carried in conveyance without the consent of the owner.

Ryan and Losco are still before the courts, facing several drug charges.

Police facts detailed sometime between the evening of July 2 and the morning of July 3, a Red Mazda CX-5 was stolen from a Wollongong garage.

The mum of two will serve her 13 month jail sentence in the community by way of intensive Corrections Order.

Between July 5 and 15, multiple offences were committed using the vehicle, including stealing and swapping number plates and failing to pay for petrol.

During the 10 day window, Burke and her partner Ben Albert were captured driving the Mazda on CCTV several times, at times with different, stolen number plates.

On July 16, police attended Burke’s Albion Park home and located the stolen vehicle.

Albert allegedly made admissions about knowing the vehicle was stolen but said he did not know where the keys were.

Forensic analysis of the vehicle uncovered Burke’s fingerprints on the number plates of the vehicle, while Alberts’ fingerprints were allegedly found in the interior and exterior of the vehicle.

Just over a week later the pair were arrested and taken to Lake Illawarra Police Station, where Alberts denied any involvement of the car theft, saying someone had told him it was a hire car.

He did make admissions to being in the car however, as did Burke, who said she did not take any part in the theft.

Burke has been in custody since, and faced Wollongong Local Court for sentencing on all four matters on Tuesday via audiovisual link from Emu Plains Correctional Centre.

Her defence lawyer Maria Wallis told the court her client had been dealing with drug addiction at the time of the offences and was looking to turn her life around upon her release.

“She tells me [being in custody] has been a massive wake-up call,” she said.

“She has no intention of continuing association with the co-accused.”

The court also heard she was in the process of rekindling a relationship with the father of her two children, who is currently studying and does not condone drug use.”

Magistrate Mark Douglass sentenced Burke to a 13 month prison sentence to be served in the community by way of Intensive Corrections Order. He said he hopes her short stint in jail had been a wake up call she needed.

“Now that she’s been exposed to jail for a short time, it might be the catalyst for change,” he said.

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